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blood-darkened-moon · 2 years ago

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Alexander Ashford CV vs DC

Here’s the next part of my Ashford family comparison between Code Veronica and Darkside Chronicles. This time: Alexander.

Alexander did not directly appear in CV. Most of his story is told through text files. He used the DNA of his ancestor Veronica to create the modified clones Alfred and Alexia to continue his father’s research and restore the family’s reputation. After the twins discovered the truth about their origin, Alexia tested the T-Veronica virus on Alexander and transformed him into Nosferatu. His mutated form is Alexander’s only real appearance in the game. Though, it is debatable if there is still anything left of him. DC kept the outline overall but added some background information and a video message of Alexander.

CV handled Alexander’s story in a rather neutral way. The files tell both sides of the events, and you can see the outcome. Alexander wasn’t innocent of the situation. The way he treated the twins was the reason everything escalated in the first place. DC changed the narrative to some degree. While they kept the backstory, they tried to shift the fault mainly to Alexia. That is reflected in Alexander’s additional content. Also, DC tried to give him some redeemable qualities. The problem is without adjustments to the backstory, these attempts are rather clumsy and again cause various plot holes. For reference, these are the additions.

Extract of the Nosferatu character file: “It was sent to Umbrella's Antarctic facility and sealed away for the last 15 years, but soon after it heard the screams of Alfred falling down the chasm in the mining room, it exhibited extraordinary herculean strength and escaped.”

Extract of the Linear Launcher file: “A potent weapon capable of firing gasified energy projectiles at a very high rate of velocity. It boasts overwhelming destructive power against organic life forms. Alexander developed it in secret, out of his concern for the unlikely event that Alexia would go out of control.”

Transcript of the video message: “If you are seeing this message, that could only mean Code: Veronica has reached a critical stage. The year is 1983, and I am afraid that my only daughter has become obsessed with the Veronica virus. She has even gone to the point of experimenting on her own body. My daughter dreams of unleashing this thing into the world. This last step is the only way I can think of to help her. Whether you are on Umbrella’s side or not, please help her.”

The Nosferatu character file implies that Alexander was still somewhat conscious and actually cared about Alfred in this state. However, Alfred’s diary stated that Nosferatu was out of control and too dangerous. Therefore, the twins locked him away. This was shortly after his transformation. Apparently, he is doing better mentally after rotting away for almost 16 years, if he still recognizes Alfred’s voice just from screaming, not even that loud, in a room that isn’t directly close to the one he is held captive. In CV, the situation plays similarly, but there isn’t an explanation given for Nosferatu freeing himself. His fetters are almost 16 years old, and the general commotion maybe made him more active, so it could still be material fatigue. Admittedly, the part is a bit wonky in both versions.

The thing is, Alexander wasn’t a loving, misunderstood father who only wanted the best for his children. He provided for the twins’ physical needs: food, shelter, education, and so on. At the same time, Alexander forced his own goals upon Alexia and pressured her into growing up as fast as possible, while he neglected Alfred to the point at which the boy wanted his own father dead. Alexander had 12 years to treat the twins in a decent way, yet he chose not to. His sudden burst of affection comes seemingly out of nowhere, especially for Alfred, who he considered a failure immediately after birth.

The video message can be interpreted in two ways. First, Alexander genuinely means what he says, which I think was the intention. They also added the part described above for Alfred, and I assume they tried to make Alexander more likable with the video by putting him in a victim role. That fits the rest of the DC narrative well since DC-Alexia is a lot eviler than her CV counterpart is. The other way to see it is that Alexander, even to this day, hasn’t realized that the situation is mostly his fault. He confuses the disappointment he feels because not only Alfred but also Alexia is apparently a failure with fatherly love. Now he looks for someone who cleans the whole mess he created.

Giving Alexander some redeemable qualities or turning him even more into a selfish asshole would both be interesting ways for character development. DC failed a bit to choose a direction. Without adjustments to the backstory, Alexander will never be just a victim. At least he should admit what he has done and take responsibility for it if they want to go in the first direction. One or two additional files, which state his thoughts about the twins during the 12 years, would be helpful too. Like this, his feelings would at least not appear to be spontaneous intuitions. In the latter case, it would be enough to remove his emotional outburst for Alfred. Overall, I appreciate the intentions, but it would be more effective if the execution had been better.

Now the real problem. What bothers me a lot is the existence of the video message and that Alexander created the Linear Launcher. Similar to Veronica’s case, this only raises more questions. First, the Linear Launcher never needed an explanation. It is a powerful weapon in front of the self-destruct system, and Umbrella stores BOWs in the Antarctic Base. Having a weapon like this as a last defense line in case of an emergency would make sense. Either you get the situation under control, or if not, you still have the option to destroy everything. They removed the self-destruct system from this area in DC for some reason. Putting Linear Launcher in a random room doesn’t make much sense without an explanation either. However, I don’t think the change was necessary.

Also, Alexander was a genetic engineer. How did he even build this thing? That’s not remotely close to his level of expertise. Maybe he just had the idea and ordered other people to build it, or weapon construction was his hobby, but still, it feels off.

The placement of the video message is another issue. Alexander wanted people to stop Alexia, but he placed the video and the weapon inside an area only accessible through the Ashfords private quarters. Alfred and Alexia had the highest chances of discovering it and removing everything. While other people, who would help, could only find it coincidentally if they were lucky enough to get there at all. Wouldn’t it make more sense to place the message and the weapon somewhere other people have a higher chance of finding it than the twins? Odd choices, Alexander, very odd choices. Also, very confident of him to predict that there will be a confrontation with Alexia in this specific room and not in any other room of this rather large facility.

In CV, Claire and Chris activated the Linear Launcher manually. But how are the video message and the release of the Linear Launcher even triggered in DC? The video starts playing randomly after the first boss fight with Alexia, apparently because the virus was detected.

The T-virus and its variants are not directly transmittable through the air or as droplets infection. Therefore, the airborne virus concentration should be low. It’s hard to believe that in such a huge room and with all the fire near Alexia, the source, there’s enough virus flying around to trigger a sensor that has been collecting dust for the past 16 years.

In the video, Alexander’s talked about a critical stage of Code: Veronica and that Alexia dreams of unleashing the virus into the world. Interesting that Alexander already knew what Alexia wanted to do and what the final stage of the project would look like before Alexia even knew it. She only finalized her plans after she tested the virus on him. Alexia needed the data from this experiment to calculate the necessity and the time for her cryogenic sleep. Additionally, she wrote both documents containing information about her plans after Alexander became Nosferatu. Alexia must have had a concept of what she wanted beforehand, but she wouldn’t talk with Alexander about it or leave incriminating documents where he could find them easily, right? So how did he know all of this? Does Alexander have psychic powers? Could he see the future?

But ok, these are still minor plot holes. The biggest issue is what the existence of this message implies. When Alexander knew the direction in which the events were heading, why hadn’t he done anything to stop them?

In CV, Alexander was likely unaware of the danger, which makes significantly more sense overall. Using him as a test subject seemed to be a rather spontaneous decision after the twins discovered the truth about their origin. They probably druged him when he didn’t pay attention and transported him to the lab. Finding a suitable moment shouldn’t have been too hard as long as he thinks everything is ok and there wasn’t an indication that says otherwise. But when Alexander knew what was coming in DC, why hasn’t he used precautions, hiring a bodyguard, for example? And, most importantly, why hasn’t he eliminated the source of the problem: Alexia?

The Linear Launcher isn’t a weapon you can build overnight. From the planning to the functional weapon, I assume it would take at least a month, probably more. He also had to install and test it. Now, add the time from discovering Alexia’s plans to the realization that the situation is getting out of control and he needs a weapon like this. Alexander had likely several months to do something. And everything he did was shoving the responsibility to unknown people in the future who may or may not help him to get rid of Alexia. Alexander doesn’t even have to kill her just stop her.

He says it is 1983 (January to early March). That means Alexia was 11 or 12 at the time of recording. He also says Alexia experimented on her own body, whatever this means. Alexia infected herself in December 1983, months after she tested the virus on Alexander and turned him into Nosferatu. The file stating this is available in the game. Therefore, Alexia didn’t have superpowers during, before, and a long time after the video was recorded, and her self-experiments couldn’t involve anything but in vitro cell tests.

Do you see the problem? Alexander is an adult man. Alexia is an 11 or 12-year-old girl. A plot like this would make sense if she would already have powers, or if she had at least many people to back her up. But Alexia’s only ally is her equally old brother. Alexander could have physically overpowered her with ease and locked her up in a room until he organized psychological help or something. Even if he thought two 11/12-year-olds would be too much at once in a fight, he still could have asked/paid other people for help. He had enough workers in the facility to restrain a child for a while.

Another option would have been destroying Alexia’s research. Alexia can’t fulfill her world-domination dreams without the virus. So, no virus, no problem. Even if she would start at zero again, it would give Alexander more time to find a long-term solution.

Even if killing Alexia would have been the only solution, why did he need such an extremely powerful weapon if an ordinary pillow would have the same effect all the time Alexander was still around (several months probably)? Alexia was significantly easier to kill before she injected herself with the virus. Or he could have grabbed her, driven her into the Antarctic tundra, thrown her out of the vehicle, driven away, and let nature do the rest. Emotional reasons would be a valid argument here, but his first and apparently only attempt to stop Alexia was building a weapon to obliterate her. Interesting to note that even in the Linear Launcher file, Alexia going out of control is called an “unlikely event”, almost like it was easily preventable. Alexander also could have paid someone to kill his daughter if he couldn’t do it. Umbrella creates bioorganic weapons. There are probably a couple of workers with questionable enough morals in the facility who would kill Alexia and keep their mouths shut, especially if Alexander throws enough money at them.

Seriously, there were so many ways to stop her in a lethal or nonlethal fashion. The only reason Alexander wasn’t successful was because he didn’t try anything else. He even called it “the only way I can think of to help her.” Sure, more like: “I tried nothing, and I’m all out of ideas.”

I wouldn’t go so far as to say the additions in DC create a paradox, like in Veronica’s case, but they don’t make much sense either. I understand that due to some changes, new explanations were necessary. As such, they are serviceable as long as you don’t know the backstory, but the backstory is still canon.

Especially making Alexander aware of Alexia’s plans was a terrible idea. Like this, he had everything to save his life and prevent the escalation, yet he did nothing except for a completely overkill reaction that is ultimately only justified because he never even tried anything else. It’s the equivalent of accidentally starting a small and easily detainable house fire, but you only call the fire department after the entire building is engulfed in flames.

#resident evil #alexander ashford #alexia ashford #alfred ashford #ashford twins #meta #🩸🌙

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tanakavox · 4 years ago

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Look into the mutiverse chapter 4

Thanks again to ExiledDarkness for writing the charcters reaction for this chapter. Please go check out his stuff. And if your wondering where Qrow came from, We forgot to add a scene for Qrow and didn't feel like going back.

This chapter is based of the Youtuber SomecallmeJohnny and his review of Super Mario 64. I had to cut it short because my laptod was acting up again and google docs was acting wonky, parts of the fic getting erased. Rest assure for the Somecallmejohnny fans, I won't just do his reviews. I have plans to do Super gaming bros reaction as well. And for those who don't know Johnny, go check him! Enjoy the reaction.

The screen lights up again and shows Jaune wearing a cap and hoodie and sitting on a bright red couch. He had a bit of stubble on his face and he was currently holding a controller in his hand as he turned on a device known as the N64.

"Oh? Jaune looks good with stubble." Blake comments. Everyone looks at Jaune and then back to the one on the screen. They all nodded in agreement.

"It's a go time! Super Mario 64!" He said in a high pitched voice with a bad accent.

The Jaune on the screen sighed seemingly tired. "Lady and Gents welcome back to the Super Mario marathon, And just like with Ocarina of time, this is a game that haunted me during the N64 lifetime. Jaune looked the the N64 sitting on his dresser and continued. "It was like the console itself was actively mocking me like: "Hey Jauney? How about you ditch that playstation and try me out instead?" The blonde's eyes lit up in anger. "Well I didn't have a job in 1996 you sensitive prick!" Jaune snapped at the console.

Everyone blinked at the sudden anger. Ruby turned towards JNPR and asked, "Are you okay Jaune?"

Jaune, still frozen from the sudden burst of anger from his other self, snaps back to reality and nods at the question. "Yeah, I think I understand what's happening here. But I'll stay quiet until I know for sure."

Jaune turned toward the screen and went on like nothing happened. "Last time I gave Mario attention, I was focused on what made the Italian "Plumber—"" He said with quotation marks. "—the video game icon he is today. Now we're gonna do it again only in 3d."

Jaune turned to his audience and smiled. "You guys ready for another Super Mario marathon?"

"Aha!" Jaune says as he slammed his closed fist on his hand. "This is me doing video games!"

Ren paused at hearing this information. "Then that explains the sudden burst of anger then." Nora and Jaune nod while the rest of the audience looks on confusedly.

RWBY look at each other before Yang hesitantly asks, "So why did he get so angry?"

Jaune laughs before scratching the back of his head. "I like video games but I hate it when I can't progress further into the game. Sometimes I get really into it, I guess."

"Here we go, Super Mario 64, the 64 being figureded to the console and not the 64 game in the series, Mario's first 3d game, and a launch title for the N64. It was highly praised and hailed as the 3d version of what Super Mario bros on the NES did for platemors at the time, Mario 64 did the same. But I came into the 64 train late, So I don't have what you call: Super Mario 64 memories. In fact my first 3d Mario game was the next game we'll be looking at: Super Mario Sunshine on the GameCube. Jaune's expression darkened as he smiled hurmlousy. "But that can wait. Oh it can wait." The tone of his voice was bitter and venomous.

Everyone laughed now knowing the context of Jaune's anger towards video games.

"Alright booting the game up and the first thing you see is Mario's head. You know to really hammer in that this is Mario's first 3d adventure. You can even fuck around with the face a bit but it doesn't really effect the game it's just there for fun.

We're also greeted by Mario's new voice, provided by Charles Margent. Shockingly this isn't his debut as the Jumpman, that was in Mario Fundamental, a Pc game released a year before. Pretty sure no one heard of it before someone did a document on it.

"This idea of a floating Mario head, perhaps more infamously in Mario teaches typing two. A floating deformed head pop on the screen.

"Hey? Are you ready for Mario type?" It asked.

"Mother of God." Jaune deadpan in horror.

"Despite the new voice, Mario doesn't speak much. It's mostly hiyas woohoos throughout the game. And he only speaks a full phase when he completes a goal or he falls asleep on the job. It shows the red clad mario on the ground sleeping.

"Ha spatgai, Ha ravioli." The plumber mutters in his sleep.

Nora drools over the names of food. They sound pretty good right now.

"Charles as Mario is so absorbed into my head I can't imagine anyone else doing the role. It's not like the acting is amazing or anything, he's been voicing Mario for nearly 20 years at this point. If Charles stepped out of the role for any reason, the next guy would just try to simulate Charles' voice.

"It's weird that way," Ren piped up, "No matter what happens people are going to remember the original no matter how much the new one tries to be the old one.

"Hear hear ninja boy" Qrow cheered a bit and took a swig of his beer.

"Okay nearly forgot that I was looking at a video game, Sorry about that. Well let's look at that plot shall we?"

"I'm curious to hear about the kind of story this game might have," Ozpin said as he crosses his legs.

"Boswer kidnaps Princess Peach, Mario must go save her, now that didn't take long now did it?"

Ozpin blinked and sat back in his seat, a bit disappointed.

"I'll let it slide this time since they probably wanted to keep it safe for the first game in 3d. Hell, the menu theme is the main theme for the series."

Qrow snorts. "Fair enough. I guess you can't expect these guys to be that ballsy."

The entire game is set in Peach's castle. Boswer has taken the power star, which I believe gives the castle power? Jaune shrugged. I dunno what they do, it's not really explain and getting more powerstar allows you to get into more levels, and that's the name of the game here. Bowser had set up routine courses in painting.

"The courses tend to varies but nothing here gets too crazy like other Mario games. It's not until late game you go to more odd place like in a clocktower or riding rainbow.

"The game's openness is the first thing you'll take note of in Mario 64. You can start a mission with a hint on what to do,but there is nothing stopping you from just doing a different mission and grabbing the star despite not being the mission you clicked on.

There are a handful of expectations like racing against against Koopa the quick who not gonna show up unless you chose his mission, but most of the time you can go at it on your own pace. Eh, I didn't wanna fight King Bo-mb yet, I want free the chain chomp and get the star there. I could take down King twop, or I could do a well place jump and get this unrelated power star. And that's where a lot of Mario's replay value comes in, not just getting the power star but how you get them.

"Oh, this game sounds fun! I should get it if we ever get out of here." Nora exclaimed.

"With what money Nora?" Jaune asked. Nora looked at Jaune with a wide smile. "No." Jaune deadpan. Nora pouted at his response and turned to Ren with a wide smile.

"No Nora. And do not ask Weiss either." Ren said with his eyes still on the screen and Nora pouted again.

Peach's castle acts as a hub world, the place you're exploring and using to get to other stages to get more power stars. But in order to duke it out with Bowser, you need to get a certain amount of power stars to access the level. As a guy who doesn't care for hub worlds I don't mind Peach's castle. The levels aren't too far apart and there are things you can do in the castle that can help you increase your star count. Like a secret race track that gives you two stars if you're fast enough, or an underwater level that contains an easy to get star. It challenges you in a way that makes it still feel like a Mario game.

"It sounds pretty easy at first glance, but I can understand how annoying it can become if you mess up at least once or twice." Jaune says. Ruby, Nora, and even Ren nod in agreement.

The biggest change to the formula was the jump to 3d, like with Ocarina of Time. He still has to break boxes, stomp on enemies, the works but this game gave the man a few extra moves to go along with the change to 3d. The analog stick is used to move Mario, the further you tilled it the faster he moves, instead of the run button we knew from the past game. Mario still has the jumps he's famous for, but pressing the jump button can allow Mario to reach the heights he's never seen until this game without a power up. He can crouch and crawl but I've only used this a total of once. But you standstill and jump you can do a backflip, and if you crouch and run you can do a long jump which I love using so much and because you can do some real fancy shit with it, and it makes Mario move faster to boot. If you snap the anlong back and jump he can do a somersault and if you jump towards a wall, Mario can wall jump as well.

Nora makes a face at the detailed review. "All these moves and stuff sound annoying. Why can't games be as simple like they are now?!"

Ren sighs and begins to explain but Qrow cuts in. "It's because of games like these were like test models that you get to play the good quality games you have now. I remember playing Soaring Ninja back when he was literally unplayable and useless. Now look at him!"

Ruby and Yang gasp, Soaring Ninja was unplayable?

"I wouldn't be surprised if this move came from the gameboy version of Donkey kong. That remake has a fucklord of levels and a handstand jump for Mario. He still takes damage if he falls too far, so he's just a pale imitation. Jaune had Mario wall jump a wall to prove a point. "The Mario I know could fall from any height and take no dam-" Jaune cut himself off his eyes widening when he heard Mario grunt in pain and his health go down a bit. "WHAT THE FUCK! He took damage from a large height! Mario! What's the meaning of this?" He asked in bewilderment, looking at the floating Mario head from earlier."

"Oh nice computer you have here. Can I have it?" the Mario head asked

"No!" Jaune exclaimed.

Everyone's eyes widened at the scene. Ozpin checked his mug with scrutiny to see if he was still drinking the right drink. Looked normal enough.

"Peach's castle has 120 power stars in the castle, but you only need 70 of them to beat the game." Jaune had a strained smile on his face as he continued. But where the fun in just getting 70 power star and beating the game that way, it not like getting all the star is that time com- for fuck sakes yes it is!"

"Let's just get one thing clear, I fucking depise the 100 coin misson. It's as simple as it sounds, grab 100 coins and then grab the star that appears over your head. Lather rinse repeat, for all 15 courses. In a game that usually has you go to once place and grab the star, collecting these coins brings the game to grueling crawl. Mario 64 doesn't have a checkpoint system. It doesn't bother me much. The levels are usually small and with Mario's new moves getting the Power star is not only comartable, it's also pretty fucking fun. And then their these." That venomous tone from before came back. The screen showcased the blue coins that have appeared throughout most of the video so far.

"Aw it's one of those games! The type that needs you to waste your time actually going through all of what the game has planned for you before you get to the final boss! What a rip off!" Qrow exclaims, tossing his hands in the air. Jaune agrees, crossing his arms and trying not to join in on the rage.

"No amount of looking of cute puppies. can cotain the amount of rage i have when I fuck up these mission with a impeferct jump or when a enemey hits me from behind. It's not always a painful process, but sucks so hard cause the coins are either place so far part or because they're so goddamn scarce! "Gotta kill those enemies before the coins blink away and scatter when they spawn. These blue coins are 5 regular coin a piece but you gotta get them before they blink away and you only got one shot! Was there area I didnt search, an enemy I skipped, I did I fuck up somewhere since I only have 64 coins after look around what feels like for fucking ever?!

"And try not get the last coin in a dangerous area or impossible to backtrack to. The star will always appear right above Mario's head, so make sure it's a safe locati-GODDAMN!"

The star had appeared in a caged area that Mario couldn't reach.

Everyone laughed at the other Jaune's misery. The Arf viewing the screen feels relieved that he himself isn't on the receiving end. Or was he?

"Couldn't just tell the star to come to you Mario?" Jaune asked the Mario head on his computer.

"When a moon hits your eye, like a big pizza pie, that's amore!" Mario began to sing and Jaune facepalm when he didn't get answered. "When an eel lunges out…

"UNGAI?!" Jaune jumping up. A eel appeared and let out a roar and Jaune wasn't in his chair anymore, It being left spinning by how fast he booked it.

"That's amore!" Mario finished singing and chuckled. Get it? Amore eel? I said funny.

"Fuck you!" Jaune said from somewhere in the house.

All the immature audience members fell out of their seats in laughter while the more mature chuckled at the scene.

At the end of the day, I really shouldn't be going for all the Power star, and that's more of a technical issue, but I'm gonna bitch anyway. But despite the age, this game is still a treat to play even today. This has been Somecallmejohnny, and you guys have a Good Day.

Nora stretches and yawns. "Well, that was a nice one. Funny too! I wonder what's next?"

The end

#rwby #jaune arc #rwby ruby rose #blake bellodona #yang xiao long #qrow branwen #rwby ozpin #headmaster ozpin #rwby salem #rwby nora valkyrie #rwby lie ren #rwby mercury black #emerald sustrai #rwby qrow branwen #rwby oscar pine #somecallmejohnny #somecallmejauney #look into the multiverse

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smokeybrandreviews · 4 years ago

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Smokey brand Movie Reviews: Holiday Season

Had an opportunity to sit down and really take in this adaptions of one of my favorite stories in the batman lore, Batman: The Long Halloween part One. This story is one of the most influential in all of comics and, indeed, is constantly referenced by any modern live action Bat-flick. The Dark Knight, arguable the best of the many Batman films, is basically just this narrative. It’s literally just The Long Halloween so seeing the graphic novel properly adapted, with all of it’s twists and turns, is something I've always wanted. Now that’s it’s here, how does it hold up?

The Good

I love this art style. It smacks of Batman: The Animated Series but with a modern polish, while paying homage to the surreal pen of Art Sale. One of the reasons i fell in over with the graphic novel was Sale’s almost psychotic rendition of Gotham, it’s many characters, and his use of shadow. None of that unique flair is lost on this production, even if it’s kind of tightened up at points. Like, take Catwoman. I loved Tim Sale’s take, the purple suit is kind of the Selina i grew up with, but I'd be lying if i said i didn’t enjoyed the version of her in this film even more.

I just mentioned this but i need to emphasize how at home this feels in the BTAS universe. It’s a like a adult version of an episode from that show. That should lend a bit of credibility to the quality on hand. Part One is pg-13, and you really feel that, but Part Two is supposed to be R. I’m looking forward to seeing how hard they go because the back half of this narrative gets real bloody, real fast.

I have to admit, the animation is pretty okay. Most of the time. It can fall of the cliff occasionally but, for the most part, it’s some of the best in these Animated DC films. The use of CG is beautifully integrated into the hand drawn bits and it really puts Invincible to shame that way. People were praising that show for how awesome it looked but i was never impressed. I wasn’t that impressed with Halloween either but it was still better than Amazon’s production.

I have to say, this voice cast is legit. There are some real hitters in this and they really deliver. Jensen Ackles is a surprisingly decent Batman, which is kind of hilarious to me, because he plays Jason Todd in my favorite of these animated flicks, Under the Red Hood. Naya Rivera is outstanding as Catwoman and Troy Baker is absolutely the next Joker, after Hamill decides to retire. Always a pleasure seeing Josh Duhamel and his Harvey Dent is a seething ball of rage, teetering on the edge of madness while Titus Welliver’s Carmine Falcone is just f*cking insidious. Billy Burke, Julie Nathanson, Jack Quaid, and Alastair Duncan, are all great in their respective roles but, holy sh*t, did David Dastmalchian’s Calendar Man give off Hannibal vibes! Great choice on that one, for sure!

I just have to emphasize just how much i enjoy this version of Catwoman. Naya breathes this character and her loss is a real tragedy.

I absolutely love this narrative so there wasn’t a question I'd gravitate toward a cinematic adaption but, i have to say, i was a little surprised by how tight this bad boy is. Like, the script, itself, is really good for something based on a comic book. I can see this thing being a proper live action adaption and being considered almost as great as the best of the Bat-flicks.

I’m just really glad this exists. The Long Halloween is one of the best, one of the quintessential, Batman narratives out there and it’s kind of a crime there has never been a proper adaption.

The Meh

Kind of wanted this thing to be a little more visceral. The Long Halloween is one of the darkest, most violent, Bat-stories ever. They kind of flirt with that carnage a little bit, but this part didn’t go full Holiday, if you know what i mean. The second one is supposed to get real gritty so i can give this one a pass but it sucks that we have to wait a month to get the real feel of this narrative.

The pacing is a bit wonky. I can see people complaining about how slow this thing is at times but i chock that up to the nature of this story. In a graphic novel or comic, you can tell a story in a certain manner but that doesn’t translate all that way to film. I’m fine with what we were given but i can totally see other people completely frustrated by the plotting, especially with Joker shows up. You just want SO much more of that guy.

The Bad

The way this story is told, hinges on the passage of time. This adaptation does a bad job of conveying that. The book is fine. You can consolidate a day or holiday, into one issue, This movie can’t do that and, at times, struggles with telling this particular aspect of the story, correctly.

I mentioned this before, but sometimes the animation can be really rough. Like, there’s a scene toward the end where that sh*t just falls of a cliff. These shots are few and far in between, but they are very noticeable and very jarring. If i didn’t love this story so much, i can see how this would take you out of the experience.

The Verdict

This sh*t is good. Real good! The Long Halloween is one of the best Batman stories ever told. It deserves to be treated with respect and reverence. Batman: The Long Halloween part One does just that. It has an incredible cast who all deliver wonderful performances, a familiar art style that feels both nostalgic and unique, a relatively tight narrative that pulls in the best bits of the source material while cleaving free some of the fat, and just an overall gorgeous production. This movie is easily one of the best in the animated DC vault, even if it is a little flawed. Warner did right by this iconic story and delivered something that puts The Killing Joke, another quintessential Bat-story, to shame. If you’re a fan of the Bat, you’ll love this movie. If you’re a fan of animation, you’ll love this movie. If you just want to see Batman done right, you’ll love this movie.

#Batman: The Long Halloween #Batman: The Long Halloween part One #DC #DC Animated #Smokey brand Movie Reviews

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theirrationalzone · 4 years ago

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My Top Ten Games of 2020

Let’s just address the giant elephant in the room from the offset: 2020 has been one giant mess of a year. Every event, every major moment this year just felt like the worst case scenario every time.

For a lot of us though, there was one saving grace: video games.

2020 has been a damn fine year for video games. From the return of certain classic franchises to some amazing new entries and experiences. Gaming really managed to thrive in a year where other entertainment mediums such as films and television struggled.

Let’s dive in and take a look at some of the games that made this year a lot more bearable:

10: Watch Dogs Legion

I’ve had a soft spot for Ubisoft’s hack ‘em up franchise for quite a while. I didn’t think the original was as disappointing as it was made out to be and I thought the second one was an underrated gem. When Legion was first announced, I liked a lot of what the game was setting out to do but I wasn’t ready to pull the trigger on getting it. I decided to give the game a chance in the end and I’m glad I did.

Legion might suffer from the same pitfalls that have plagued other Ubisoft enterprises, but the recruitment mechanic is one of the coolest systems I have seen in any game ever. The fact that you can recruit any NPC that you see on the streets of London and use their unique talents to complete your objectives is just an awesome thing in and of itself. Its depiction of London is also incredibly fun to explore and cause mayhem in. While I found the writing to be pretty subpar, the game quite buggy and the whole PS5 upgrade fiasco a farce, I still found Legion to be a fun open world experience overall.

9: Resident Evil 3

Resident Evil has been on a real hot streak as of late, hasn’t it? Ever since Capcom made a promise to its fans that the Resident Evil series would go back to what made it so popular in the first place, the series has gone from strength to strength. Last year saw the release of the RE2 Remake which was absolutely excellent in that it kept the spirit of the original while also taking a few liberties of its own. It was only a matter of time before RE3 got the same treatment and well... it did.

I’m just going to spit this out. It’s not as good as the RE2 Remake. It didn’t need to be though. I still think this is a good game that provides a satisfying and fun survival horror experience. It carries over a lot of the elements that made the RE2 Remake such an excellent game and in certain areas (especially the writing) it makes a few improvements. Plus the game looks absolutely stunning thanks to the RE Engine. It is quite short. It is missing quite a bit of content from the original game. It definitely isn’t as replayable as the RE2 Remake. I still had a blast with it though overall. If this really is a blip for the Resident Evil series, then it must be in a really good place right now.

8: Tell Me Why

Dontnod Entertainment have fast become one of my favourite developers in the industry right now. When I first played Life is Strange back in 2015, it felt like a revelation. It weaved a fantastic story with characters you genuinely cared for and took you to a place you never wanted to leave. I’ve enjoyed all of their other ventures since then such as the underrated (if quite janky) Vampyr and Life is Strange 2.

Tell Me Why is another venture that fits the Dontnod MO: A grounded emotional story with slight supernatural elements, a degree of player choice and a setting that makes your jaw drop. The major difference here is the game’s attempt to portray a transgender character. That’s nothing new in and of itself. It’s more the fact that it attempts to accurately portray a transgender male character which is a bit of a rarity in all forms of media. Transgender portrayals (from what I’ve seen) tend to focus on male to female rather than female to male.

I’m in no position to comment on whether the portrayal is accurate or not, but I got the impression that Dontnod really went out of their way to get this right. Their FAQ explains that they worked with GLAAD and the voice actor to get it as right as they could. That alone deserves huge praise, but I also loved the Ronan Twins’ story as they dealt with their harsh past and the uncertain future. The game was a delight from beginning to end and it just looks absolutely gorgeous to boot. Dontnod have done it again.

7: Bugsnax

One of the early delights of the last generation was a little ditty known as Octodad: Dadliest Catch. It was a fun little physics based affair which cast you as a octopus masquerading as a human. The game had a terrific sense of humour and it was just bloody fun to play. Young Horses (the developer of the game) kinda went dark after that. They only really resurfaced to release two bonus levels for that game and then they just disappeared again. Now we know why that was the case...

Bugsnax retains some of the qualities that made Octodad such as a memorable game. A great sense of humour and a unique gameplay hook. You play as a reporter sent to the mysterious Snaktooth Island to interview an explorer called Elizabert Megafig who has discovered these unusual creatures known as Bugsnax. After crash landing onto the island, you discover that Elizabert and her significant other have gone missing. It’s up to you to find out what happened while also documenting and capturing Bugsnax for yourself. Capturing the Bugsnax is a big part of what makes this game such a delight to play. As you unlock more tools to play around with, you can come up with different strategies and methods to capture these weird snack based creatures. It’s pretty awesome. Throw in a lovable set of characters to interact with and a beautiful environment to explore, and you’ve got one of the most lovable games released this year.

6: Mafia: Definitive Edition

The last few years haven’t been too kind to the Mafia franchise in my eyes. I really wanted to like Mafia III when it came out back in 2016. It was a sequel I waited years for and it did have some good qualities such as an excellent story that dealt with some pretty heavy topics, solid gameplay mechanics and an amazing licensed soundtrack. Unfortunately the game had one of the most tedious and boring gameplay loops I think I’ve ever seen in an open world game. It just got so dull after the first couple of hours.

This year saw the announcement of the Mafia Trilogy which was to be a celebration of the entire franchise with a remake of the first game, a remaster of the second and a re-release of the third. Half of this was botched with the remaster of II being poorly put together and the re-release of III receiving a broken patch. Things were looking grim for the remake...

As you can see by it being in this list, we were proven wrong. Mafia: DE is a fantastic remake that pays good lip service to the original while also expanding on certain elements. The story which follows the rise and fall of cab driver turned wiseguy Tommy Angelo is more fleshed out with new sequences and character moments that weren’t in the original. Gameplay still retains the solid shooting and cover mechanics of Mafia III and the driving feels absolutely excellent especially when you put it in simulation mode. Lost Heaven is just gorgeous to behold as well with its bustling neighbourhoods and beautiful countryside. I hope this is the beginning of a redemption arc for Hangar 13 and the Mafia franchise. There is a lot of promise to build upon from here.

5: Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise

Anyone who knows me personally or has followed me on social media for a while knows that I’m a big fan of Deadly Premonition. The 2010 cult survival horror hit pretty much encapsulates why I love video games with its lovable hero, an eccentric cast of characters and surprisingly solid mechanics considering the budget it was made for. It was definitely more than the sum of its parts.

When I found out that a sequel was being made exclusively for the Nintendo Switch, my jaw hit the floor pretty hard. I thought any hopes for a sequel were dashed when SWERY left Access Games (the original dev), and yet here we are. A Blessing in Disguise is a brilliant sequel to the zany original. It captures everything that I loved about the original game to a T while also improving in certain aspects. The story is more ambitious this time with it being both prequel and sequel. A lot of the gameplay elements have been improved. The combat benefits from better aiming controls and an upgrade system for both York and his weapon. Getting from A to B is less wonky (and more fun) thanks to the addition of a skateboard rather than a car.

While I do still think the original is better due to the more creative side quests, the more challenging difficulty and the fact that it functions better from a technical perspective, I’m still a big fan of DP2 and it deserves your attention. Here’s hoping that it makes its way to other platforms in the future.

4: Ghost of Tsushima

This last generation has been good for Sony and its Worldwide Studios. In the last five years, they’ve managed to produce hit after hit after hit. A definite far cry from the first year of the PS4 where they produced some dire exclusives. Infamous Second Son was one of these. Sucker Punch’s first effort on the console was very pretty and a good technical showpiece for the console, but as a game, it was boring and dull. I couldn’t even muster the strength to finish it. The standalone expansion First Light was a huge improvement in my eyes. It cut out a lot of the fluff from Second Son. I knew then that Sucker Punch would eventually give us something amazing. They certainly did in the end...

Ghost of Tsushima is honestly one of the best exclusives that Sony has ever produced. Giving us a brutal tale in the vein of a Kurosawa flick where samurai Jin Sakai is forced to betray his code in order to drive out the Mongol force that has enslaved his homeland; we have a story that is genuinely gripping from beginning to end with an incredibly powerful final duel to boot. The combat is incredibly fun with a brilliant combat system that is easy to pick up but challenging to master. Duels especially show the combat system at its finest. Upgrading your abilities genuinely makes you feel incredibly powerful as you begin to decimate enemies left, right and center. Stealth is solid giving you plenty of tools at your disposal and certainly changes up the gameplay a fair bit. Did I mention that Tsushima Island is one of the most aesthetically pleasing locales in any game to date? Well I’m saying it now. It is one of the most beautiful locales in any game to date.

I’m very excited to see where this new IP goes in the future because this first entry is just incredible. A must buy if you own or plan on owning a PlayStation 4 or 5 in the near future.

3: Astro’s Playroom

Memorable pack-in exclusives are a bit of a rarity nowadays. The last one that sticks in my mind is Wii Sports, and that was a long time ago.

Astro’s Playroom serves as the pack-in title for the PlayStation 5 as it is pre-installed on all units. It’s also my favourite exclusive for the console so far. The main reason for this is that Astro’s Playroom evolves past being just a tech demo for the console and its fancy new controller. It actually is a fun little platformer in its own right. It offers something different with every level. In one level you can transform into a giant ball and attempt to navigate some pretty tight platforms, and in the next, you take control of a rocket ship and navigate through corridors while also avoiding bombs. There is great variety here and to be fair, it shows off the potential of the new DualSense controller fantastically.

Plus the game is just one giant love letter to the PlayStation brand and the games that made it what it is today. You’ll see references to obscure PlayStation paraphernalia such as the Multitap and UMD discs, and also games like Final Fantasy VII and Silent Hill. The final boss of the game in particular is one giant callback to something you might remember if you got a PlayStation 1 back in the day. I won’t say any more, but it made me yelp in joy when I saw it. If you plan on getting a PlayStation 5 in the future, make this the first game you play. You won’t regret it.

2: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2

Activision have been on a roll in the last few years with the revitalisation of some of their classic franchises. Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon for example have enjoyed newfound success thanks to the excellent N Sane Trilogy and Reignited Trilogy. When it was revealed earlier this year that Vicarious Visions and Beenox would be resurrecting the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater franchise with a remake of Pro Skater 1 and 2, my heart skipped a good few beats.

The Pro Skater franchise means a lot to me personally as I have very fond memories of putting hours into 1 and 2 when I was a kid. Going through the Career mode with each skater, learning the gaps and getting used to doing manuals when they were introduced in 2, it’s all ingrained into me. I’m happy to say that this is probably the best remake I have ever played. It perfectly captures what made those first two entries so special. Each level is beautifully recreated with a ton of new details that serve to enhance these levels. The soundtrack includes all of your old favourites like Goldfinger’s Superman and Rage Against the Machine’s Guerilla Radio along with some fantastic new tracks like Less Than Jake’s Bomb Drop.

The gameplay definitely taps more into Pro Skater 3 and 4 territory with Reverts and Flatland tricks included. These tricks don’t feel out of place and the game does give you the option to play it legacy style if you want. It feels magnificent overall though. The physics are pitch perfect. Creating lines and large combos is still as addicting and rewarding as ever. Online leaderboards certainly tempt you to reach for the stars if you’ve got the ability. Career mode isn’t particularly long, but the pretty robust Create-a-Park editor and solid multiplayer suite should keep you coming back for more. I’ve already put dozens of hours into this and I have no intention of stopping anytime soon.

If my number 1 entry on this list didn’t exist, this would be my Game of the Year. As it stands though, this is a very close second.

1: Doom Eternal

How do you follow up one of the best first person shooters in recent memory? Basically turn everything up to eleven and then some. Doom (2016) was such an eye opener when it launched. It gave everything we could have ever wanted from a new Doom game: a whole planet full of demons to kill and some big guns to help them back to where they belong. It was awesome and an easy choice for my GOTY back in 2016.

I anticipated Doom Eternal with bated breath. The excitement was building but the nerves were building with it. How could it live up to the previous one? What if it makes the same mistakes as Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus? Thankfully my worries were unfounded as soon as I loaded up the game and was thrown straight into the fold with a Combat Shotgun and some entry level demons to destroy with it.

Doom Eternal is the FPS genre at its absolute finest. The levels are much bigger with more secrets to find and loads of demons to kill. Said demons are much more plentiful in their ranks and they move faster too. Fortunately enough, you have a huge arsenal to deal death to these demonic denizens from the depths of Hell such as the starter Combat Shotgun, the Plasma Rifle, the Ballista and even a giant sword known as the Crucible. Enemies now have weak points to exploit as well which can turn the tide of battle and it rewards accuracy. Before you know it, you’ll be entangled in a ballet of bullets, beams, blood and guts (HUGE guts mind you.) This game makes you feel like a hero at the end of every fight. It’s so satisfying.

Toss in a soundtrack that will get your blood pumping and your goosebumps raising along with environments that will make your TV or monitor look like a window to a scorched earth, and you have my Game of the Year for 2020. Well deserved for sure. I really need to get on that DLC.

To those of you who actually took the time to read all that, you have my heartfelt thanks. I really appreciate you reading this and I hope my choices made sense.

To those of you who just glanced at each entry and skimmed through the text, I don’t blame you for doing that. I still appreciate you taking a look anyway.

All that’s left for me to say is that I hope each and every one of you has a safe holiday season and I hope that the New Year will be better for all of us.

I’ll see you all in 2021. Stay safe and well, folks.

#goty 2020 #ps5 #ps4 #switch

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bookmovietvworm · 5 years ago

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Lover Album Initial Listen Reaction

I Forgot That You Existed

A relatable bop, cause damn I've been there. I love the funky beat and the snaps are a fun element that make the song catchy as all hell. One I will definitely be playing in my car on road trips cause it is such a car jam.

Cruel Summer

Not my favorite. I love the bridge and the beat but the chorus is one that I’m definitely going to have to get used to. Also, the production makes it really hard for me to understand the words, but that might just be because it is the first listen.

Lover

A wedding song like no other wedding song. So, my friend is getting married so I'm in the wedding mood and I started thinking about what song I would want to be my first dance song. I knew I wanted a Taylor song, but didn't know which one. Welp, I know now! The bridge is so beautiful.

The Man

THIS DESERVES TO BE A SINGLE!!!! Holy shit, the beat is infectious And the lyrics are the damn truth and it sucks that no pop queen (not just Taylor) gets treated like a male singer. This is in the running to be a favorite song of the album and in general.

The Archer

Ok, this song is my shit. I relate HARD to it and it just hits me every time. Already a favorite and nothing will change that.

I Think He Knows

The beginning of this reminds me of The Way I Loved You from Fearless. And the lyrics are given me some flashbacks in a good way. This song is a certified bop. I love the production of it and the use of falsetto in the chorus just gives it an extra something. I would not be mad if this was a single cause it bops hard.

Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince

This is gonna be a grower I can already tell it. I love the chorus, but the verses are going to take some getting used to as the beat is a little wonky for me. But after a few listens, I'm sure I’ll get used to it. The second verse is my favorite lyrically in the song. And the Go, Fight, Win like a football cheer helps sell me on the metaphor a lot.

Paper Rings

OH HELL YEAH! This song hits just right. The drumbeat, the fast delivery of the verses... perfection. It reminds me a bit of Stay, Stay, Stay which I adore so... Also I love that a simpler song production-wise, focusing mostly on real instruments rather than computer beats, is about not caring about the quality of gifts and things but the quality of the intangible. Like the track will intentionally empty to me. A favorite for sure.

Cornelia Street

A lovely chill vibing song with such a vivid depiction of a start of an intense relationship. It must absolutely suck to have a place so tied to a relationship cause as she mentions if it ever goes down in flames, the hurt that would come with visiting would be unreal. I love the verses a lot. This is one time where the falsetto in the chorus just doesn't work for me. I think the lower register fits the song best. Lyrically a standout.

Death By A Thousand Cuts

Very interesting intro... okay. I live for a cowbell so that's a plus for this song like the triangle was for Gorgeous. The chorus is so pretty and I love the flow of the verses. Lyrically relatable af for me so

London Boy

I am loving the funky beats she is giving us this era cause they make every song sonically interesting to me. Like even if I don’t care for this song lyrically, I will likely still listen to it a lot cause the instrumentation is so well done. This is a cute song about Joe, just not something I relate to very much so...

Soon You’ll Get Better

The Dixie Chicks are bringing back Country Taylor. The stripped-back instrumentation is exactly what this song needed cause it puts all the focus on the lyrics. That was a short bridge but man did it hit me in the feels so much. I'm crying this is lovely. That is really my only complaint is that everything feels a little too short but that's not the point or a major issue so...While not a favorite, I appreciate it and everything it stands for.

False God

Was that a Saxophone?!?!? Whatever instrument it was caught me entirely off guard, I wasn't expecting that. A very interesting and slightly experimental track with the delivery of certain parts. The metaphor is not her best, but I love her voice and the fullness of this track. Feels a lot like The Archer instrumentation wise. Ended way to abruptly for me. Overall, not a favorite.

You Need To Calm Down

I have had time to lean into this one and I adore it. The oh oh oh part is constantly stuck in my head, and I love the descending flow of the verses. Overall, fantastic song.

Afterglow

I wish the chorus was just a tad faster cause then this song would be the best of the album for sure! Im loving the emphasis on interesting percussion this album, that will always be something I appreciate. Lyrically, this is a favorite from the album. I have been/put myself in this position too many times to count.

Me!

I feel like I am the only one who likes Me! but goddamn do I adore this song. The first verse, lyrically and delivery wise, is a favorite and honestly, there are songs on the album I like less. Also, the drumline makes a lot more sense in the context of the album.

It’s Nice To Have A Friend

Reminds me a bit of Mary’s Song lyrically. I actually love that the vocal delivery matches the school metaphor cause it really immerses you in it. The biggest issue for me is the oohs. They are a bit too overpowering so it would have been nice to dial those back some.

Daylight

Other than the weird delivery of the first verse, once the beat kicks in during the chorus, I like it a lot. It is the perfect closure lyrically and sonically. It combines the fullness of songs like The Archer/False God with the funky percussion that is present. A perfect way to close this era.

#taylor swift #lover #lover album

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jeanjauthor · 6 years ago

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Clothes vs. Money: Status and Self Worth in the 18th Century

Writers, this is an EXCELLENT summation of how important the quality & appearance of clothing is in a pre-modern society.

Clothing today is incredibly cheap: a single day’s wages will get you pants or skirt, shirt, socks and underwear, all of it brand new, straight off the rack, in a vast variety of colors and patterns. A week’s wages will get you shoes and coat and a couple changes of underwear, extra shirt, extra pants or skirt (or a dress).

Prior to the 20th century...it could take you more than a month to earn enough money for a new shirt, or underclothes, or trousers, or shoes. Not and, but or. You’d be lucky to get two of those things at average to good wages for the vast majority of people...and since the vast majority still worked on farms prior to the industrial revolution, and with it, the agricultural revolution, you’d only see that kind of money during or shortly after harvest season.

Listen to John Townsend reading from these journals. Take your inspiration from them. Be realistic in what your characters would be wearing, how often they’d get a chance to do laundry, and make sure your characters are clothed appropriately for their situation.

In the movie Ever After, Danielle (Cinderella) borrows a fancy noblewoman’s dress left at the painter’s studio to go rescue her fellow servant. The dress is only available to her because her best friend growing up is the painter’s apprentice, and because painting a portrait can take weeks of work, so it was often just easiest to leave the clothing on a mannekin form while the owner went off in their other clothes to do other things. We might think the dress she normally wears isn’t too bad, but it’s only slightly above what the other servants wear, and it’s definitely not new.

In the modern era, this is also true, though the lines are a bit more blurred. We have Casual Fridays, where you can come to work at some places in jeans and a teeshirt, or a Hawai’ian shirt...and we have formal suits and dresses and skirtsuits. Some situations you can get away with a Casual Friday. Others, you’d never get away with it. Lawyers, for example, are expected to wear suits or the equivalent at all times, to project an air of professionalism & seriousness.

We have a variety of uniforms that we have to wear for certain jobs or industries, too. Not just UPS or Military or Post Office or Law Enforcement. Have you noticed the variety of uniforms in the restaurant industry? Some places (McDonalds, etc), issue you your uniform. It isn’t yours to keep, however; once you’re done working for them, you have to hand it back in. You also have to keep it clean and neat at your own expense. Housekeeping staff for hotels have to do this, too.

Other places simply say “wear black pants (or skirt, but no yoga pants or jeans) and white shirt, no teeshirts or logos (not even a lil alligator or polo pony)”...and that’s all you have to wear. You have to supply your own “uniform.” It could be almost any style of trousers or non-logo non-tee shirt. Others allow you to wear a serious, sober, law-office-worthy tie...while some allow you to wear “an amusing tie of publicly acceptable subject material”...aka no naked-lady ties, or ties covered in swearwords...but you could wear Loony Tunes characters like Bugs Bunny, or a Transformers tie if you wanted.

However, clothing is incredibly cheap; if you’re used to having money in your pocket for clothes every few months in real life, you probably haven’t thought about having to repair your clothes. Shirt gets ripped? Go buy a new one! No big deal! ...Right?

You cannot take that attitude, that mindset, into a pre-20th-century tech-level world.

Just to give you an example, making the cloth to make clothes took HUGE amounts of effort before the advent of industrialization, from the farm machines to automatically pick the cotton through to the carding and spinning and weaving machines. Prior to all of that (and yes, the mechanized industrialization of agriculture is PART of why clothes are so cheap...and why wool, which still has to be sheared by professional shearers working one sheep at a time, is so much more expensive!)...it took 12 full time spinners to keep 1 full time weaver working at the loom.

What does that mean? It means that the 12 spinners listed above did nothing but spin all day long. Aside from maybe making their meals, they didn’t plough (plow) the fields, they didn’t feed the livestock, they didn’t shepherd the sheep, they didn’t mend the fences, they didn’t craft the furniture or repair the roof thatching... A lot of families grew flax specifically for turning it into linen thread, and spend every spare moment they had spinning thread, to either hopefully get them enough thread to set up a loom in the winter months when there was’t a lot of outdoor activity going on, or to sell to professional weavers, in hopefully good enough quality to fetch the best price for their balls of thread.

Ploughmen (whatever gender) would be outside all day long, plowing, weeding, harvesting, mending things around the farm and would only spin if there was time. Housekeepers and child tenders would spin while food was cooking (which could take hours), or while laundry was drying...but it would still probably take roughly 30 part-time spinners to keep 1 weaver in constant production.

Also, consider the fact that it takes literal days to set up a loom...and god help you if you got it wrong and didn’t discover the mistake right away, because you’d spend hours more undoing and redoing it right. Dependind on the width of the fabric, the tightness of the weave, the type of fabric and the kind of loom (Navajo vertical looms are different beasts from European treadle looms...and a lightweight linen suitable for handkerchiefs and veils isn’t going to be at all like a heavy canvas, never mind a rug weight material), the swiftness of making the cloth means that your progress might be measured in inches per day, feet per day, or if you’re very lucky, yards per day...and that’s assuming you have enough thread on hand for both warp and weft.

...Think that’s a lot? I haven’t even gotten into all the effort required for finding and making dyes, madders (fixing agents to help keep the colors from fading too fast in sunlight) and getting the consistencies right. (Contrary to popular belief you could get some bright colors out of natural dyes; black was the absolute most difficult to dye, not purple. The materials for making black dye were far cheaper to acquire than for purple, but still, difficult to dye and keep it actually black in sunlight.)

Nor have I gotten into sumptuary laws, which tried to dictate what a person of a certain social rank could wear, including furs and silks. (Anyone could wear squirrel fur, for example, but to wear mink or ermine, you had to be waaay up high on the social ladder.) ...People still wanted to wear things “above their station” and sumptuary laws were difficult to enforce at times...but sometimes they were enforced ruthlessly. So it was risky at times.

Danielle in Ever After would’ve been whipped & imprisoned/indentured for wearing that fancy dress, if people had realized she was a peasant, not a noblewoman. But for her, the risk was worth it, to save a man from being sold off to the colonies for indentured servitude, to bring him back to his wife and his family & friends.

So John’s not kidding when he says that people in the late 1700s/early 1800s invested money in their clothes as a sign of their social status. You want people to treat you with more respect, you have to look like you have the social status, and that preceived social status is often dependent on wealth.

Buying new is not the only option, either. We have places like the Rack where they sell off for cheap the odds and ends, remnants of garments that just didn’t sell at listed price in the big department stores, or they might have a few flaws that the big stores reject (missing button, wonky stitching, etc), but otherwise the garment is in good shape and still basically brand new, so it’s sold for maybe $20 instead of $80

We also have the true thrift stores, such as Goodwill, Salvation Army, St. Vincent de Paul, Value Village, and those are just the local charity/donated goods shops in my area. You can visit these places and get that same dress at $80 for just $4-$8, but it’ll have been worn by someone else, laundered (well, one hopes), and put up for sale.

The same sort of system existed in pre-industrial societies. Mercedes Lackey has a beautiful scene in her first Bardic Voices, The Lark & the Wren novel, wherein the main character, the Wren, is taken to various used clothing sellers in the market places of the city she’s in, and given advice on what to buy, which includes torn and stained clothing, and how to hide the stains, using ribbon trim and embroidery and applique patches, or even just wearing a vest over a shirt that’s stained on the chest area.

Since Wren is trying to make a living as a bard/minstrel, it’s considered appropriate for her to have clothing that has fancy, eye-catching trim on it, as part of her entertainer persona. When she’s busking in the street (performing for passers-by to hopefully get pennies...or pins...in payment), the more eye-catching, the better, since it goes with her ear-catching music.

And when she gets a job providing polite, soothing music in an upper-class bordello/brothel style establishment, she wears more subdued clothes. Why? To help her blend into the background, since the focus is to provide soothing, pleasant music while the rich patrons wait for their chosen paid companions to be available. They’re not going to put up with someone wearing screaming shades of red and yellow and green with ribbon-strung bells dangling off their elbows...but neither will they put up with someone wearing the cheapest, crappiest woven fabrics visibly stained and ragged, badly patched or torn.

Since the adage “the clothes make (the social status) of the man” has been around for ages and ages...I can only imagine that clothing--and the kind of high-tech gear you can afford--far into the future will also still continue to be a mark of unspoken social status for humankind.

...I mention gear because aliens might or might not have any need for clothing, but they’ll certainly have a need for gear, and the higher the quality the gear, or the more functional it is, the more likely they’ll be considered higher quality in social status, too.

Also, functionality is a key factor, because social status isn’t just about kings and queens at the top and peasants and slaves at the bottom. It’s also about what kinds of society your characters move around in. You wear clothes appropriate to being a sailor while on a ship, but you will want different outfits when you’re a blacksmith apprentice, versus a clockmaker’s helper, versus a farm laborer, versus a nobleman’s son.

A nobleman’s son wouldn’t want to wear the leather apron or smock that a blacksmith would, but if you walked into a smithy and asked for a job while wearing fine silks, you’d get turned down (and laughed at behind your back), but if you walked in wearing wool (which doesn’t catch on fire; it just scorches and smolders and goes out) and leather (ditto), you’ll be taken seriously.

Your gear is the same. The Millenium Falcon was a rusted bucket of bolts and patch jobs compared to Queen Amidala’s personal, sleek, silvery interstellar transport, but it was still a fantastically swift, maneuverable ship. The Queen’s personal yacht would get her respect from port authorities. The Falcon’s capabilities would get it respect from other smugglers and crime bosses, because it looks like it can’t go very fast and should fall apart at any minute...but it won’t fall apart. It’ll blast past everything else & keep going...provided you can keep it patched together.

Anyway, long speech short, watch this video, and think about how your stories and your characters protray their social status, their wealth, via their clothes & gear...and remember, pre-20th-century, clothing is expensive. You and I have each probably have so many different outfits on our shelves and in our dresser drawers and wardrobe cupboards and closets that we’d be considered damn near royalty in terms of pure clothing-wealth, compared to just about anywhere in the 11th Century.

Clothing makes the character, and the story.

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smokeybrand · 4 years ago

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Smokey brand Movie Reviews: Holiday Season

The Good

I just have to emphasize just how much i enjoy this version of Catwoman. Naya breathes this character and her loss is a real tragedy.

I’m just really glad this exists. The Long Halloween is one of the best, one of the quintessential, Batman narratives out there and it’s kind of a crime there has never been a proper adaption.

The Meh

The Bad

The Verdict

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arkus-rhapsode · 7 years ago

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What do you think of Black Clover's anime compared to its manga?

Oh boy the anime…

Rather than going into a long essay of thoughts and studio perriot bitching, I’m going to try and break the anime do into sections and talk about those like I did with Fairy Tail Dragon Cry.

Visuals: If there is one thing I love about the anime it’s the color. The color manages to be both bright, but still have a darker tone. Something the med evil aesthetic of the show really benefits from thematically. If is on no small part of the animation studio being veterans and really knowing how to polish the scenes. Regardless of their “made in a single week” product, it at least looks touched up enough. But that’s all in the pallet.

In terms of character models the anime can do characters like Asta, Noelle, Finral, Vanessa, Mimosa, and Yuno pretty well, but guys like Yami and Magna… Well they look all rubbery, as if their models aren’t properly rendered. Yami looks less like his anime model and more like a butter statue in a few shots. Then again, Perriot has a history of really wonky character models.

As for magic, well I like the way Perriot uses that experience it’s had to touch up ways the magic looks and add a bit more detail to it, like Magna’s fire and Yuno’s wind all looking very well done. I know I’ve made jokes about the color, but Sekke’s bronze looks good, BUUUUT then there’s the shitty cgi. Oh my god, it is awful. Like, Berserk 2016 bad. The chains in the first episode to the ice Heath use all look awful. Noelle’s water with stuff like the sea dragon cradle is such obviously lazy cgi that it hurts. In the manga, Tabata’s way of drawing water is amazing, it really looks great, but it’s the worst thing to look at in the anime. A1 pictures is also pretty cut corners themselves, but at least when watching Fairy Tail, I actually thought Juvia’s water looks like real water.

As for the layouts and lighting, they’re all pretty good. I actually was surprised to see the evening sun in the magic knights entrance exam. It was really effective.

Animation: The Animation in this fluctuates like crazy. There are times it looks pretty good and doesn’t have the Fairy Tail 2008 problem of trying to look so much like the manga it doesn’t actually try to have the attack connect, just use the reaction shot of the critical damage because, “Y’know, it’s like the manga”, even though the reason for watching the anime is to see fluidity and not stills. At times Black Clover does it okay with animation like Asta knocking Heath out, but then there’s the time Asta knocks out Lebutty and it looks awful. The anime really relies on blurry vision way too much.

I know BC is a manga and you basically use snapshots to tell the story, but in a different medium you have to make some level of change and mak it quality.

Soundtrack: It’s generic. Like it could go with any fantasy anime. I know this might seem lke over nitpicking, but this is the same studio that did the Naruto and Bleach soundtracks, which are great. Soundtracks really do matter and stuff like FT have shown me that even a generic fantasy setting can atleast have definition through music. Black Clover’s is just blah. Not memorable, not overly scored, just… there.

Now the openings I rather enjoy. these OPs are pretty much the feeling of shounen distilled into music, it is rockin’. Not the greatest thing I’ve heard, but damn, it’s fun.

Cast: Actually I really like the cast for both the sub and dubs. Both are pretty unique in their own ways and all fit how I imagined these characters have sounded. I however have made separate posts on my thoughts on the actors specifically so I will not bore you.

And last but not least, Pacing: Oh lord this is what kills the anime for me. Every complaint I’ve had could be ignored and or possibly just the sin of being a weekly series, but the pacing just is awful. BC’s manga is very fast paced and it used that early on to its advantage, but the anime, the filler fucking takes forever. It thinks introducing character ill have more impact, but this is studio Perriot they don’t know how to deviate from the initial character source material. While Toei has a bunch of problem, it knows how to write its characters for DBZ and to a lesser extent, One Piece. But perriot just reuses the character’s known personality and doesn’t offer any new layer to the character. The filler just makes this a slog to get through, initially I wasn’t even that mad at the filler, I liked seeing young Yuno and Asta, but then I realized something, it isn’t saying anything new, it’s just a reaffirmation of how Asta and Yuno are friend and grew out together. Then there are just one sentence long events that get bloated like the Yami and Magna gambling scene.

Sometimes I get the filler, extending Yuno’s fight with that rich asshole, the boar hunting scene, but we don’t need the Sister Lily thing out the Rebecca cameo, because they aren’t important later down the story. Look at times Black Clover’s fast pacing is to its detriment, but it really benefits the series as a whole, but this anime just can’t pace itself.

As an adaptation, it’s bad. As an anime it’s just below average. I really would say check out the manga before the anime.

#black clover #anime

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tech-battery · 4 years ago

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This Smartwatch Has a Baffling Price

Your average smartwatch brand usually puts out at least two types of watches: a premium flagship smartwatch, and a more cost-conscious alternative with about 75% of the flagship’s features. Samsung does it (Galaxy Watch 3 and the Galaxy Watch Active2), Fitbit does it (Fitbit Sense and Versa 3), and now with the Apple Watch SE, Apple has also gotten on board. So it’s not really surprising that Huami, a company that pumps out a lot of surprisingly stylish and affordable smartwatches, is also looking to do the same with the Zepp E, which is far more premium than the company’s other offerings.

If you aren’t familiar with Huami, let’s rewind a little. Huami is the parent company of Amazfit, which makes wearables like the Bip S. It also partnered with Timex for its Ironman GPS R300 and the Metropolitan R smartwatches. In general, it’s known for budget smartwatches that deliver a lot of functionality at a very attractive price point. I was more or less expecting the same from the Zepp E, but what I got was a watch that delivered budget functionality at a price that didn’t make sense.

The Zepp E costs $250, and to be fair, it’s a nice-looking watch. It comes in two variations: a round version, which I reviewed, and a square one that looks like an Apple Watch knock-off. I’ve spilled a ton of words on why Apple Watch clones need to die, so we’ll skip past that one, but the round version is quite sleek on the wrist. The 1.28-inch AMOLED display is crisp and easy to read notifications on. Colors are bright, and while you can see some pixelation if you squint, I never felt it was so bad that it detracted from watch faces or text. It’s also only 9mm thick, which is thinner than most flagship smartwatches out there. (The Apple Watch, for instance, is 10.4mm.) Huami describes it as “3D curved bezel-less glass” and while that’s marketing schlock, I will say it does look and feel like it belongs on a premium watch. I didn’t love the texture of the “moon gray” leather band they sent me, but it looked chic with the gold case and, for once, wasn’t pink.

But while the design seems like it would belie a premium watch, the features are lacking compared to other watches in this price range.

The Zepp E has a couple of features that other premium smartwatches have, such as an on-demand SpO2 app—much like the one on the Series 6 and the Galaxy Watch 3—and stress-tracking. It also offers continuous heart rate-monitoring and the typical sensors we’ve come to expect from smartwatches, like an accelerometer and ambient light sensor. You also get sleep-tracking, an estimated seven days of battery life, and with 5 ATM of water resistance, it’s safe for swimming. What you don’t get is NFC payments, built-in GPS, digital assistant, or cellular connectivity. I wouldn’t necessarily expect all of those things on a sub-$300 smartwatch. The Fitbit Versa 3, for instance, may not have cellular capability, but it does get you Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, built-in GPS, Fitbit Pay, and SpO2 monitoring for $230. The Apple Watch SE starts at $280, but you get Apple Pay, Siri, built-in GPS, and you can upgrade to a cellular model. The Samsung Galaxy Active2 also starts at $280, also has a cellular version, Bixby, Samsung Pay, and adds ECG. When you consider how much you can get for under $300, the Zepp E’s feature set feels a bit incomplete. The advanced features the Zepp E does have—an SpO2 app and stress-tracking—feel sort of tacked on, and lack some of the context provided on other, competing smartwatches.

That’s a shame because, for the most part, the Zepp E is a good, basic smartwatch.

For notifications, I found the Zepp E was pretty capable, though you’ll have to manually configure which alerts you receive in the Zepp app, under the Zepp E’s individual settings. That’s not uncommon—you have to do it for Fitbits, too—and personally, I like that you have more control over what does or doesn’t make your wrist buzz. It lacks a built-in music player, which isn’t the worst thing. You can control your music over Bluetooth, but if you want Spotify or Pandora on your wrist, you’re out of luck here.

In terms of interface, the Zepp E is similar to Wear OS. You basically swipe left and right to view widgets for things like weather and activity, and you can press the button on the right side to access a scrolling menu for your apps. Swipes were easily registered, and thankfully, I didn’t experience any latency.

The battery on the Zepp E is pretty solid. I got about 6-7 days of typical use on a single charge without the always-on display enabled. With it on, I got about three days, but to be fair, I logged more than two hours of activity-tracking during that time. Connected GPS doesn’t drain the battery as fast as built-in GPS does, but I had a setting toggled on to increase how often the Zepp took heart rate measurements during recorded exercise. That would also deplete the battery faster than on days with lighter activity. Depending on the options you choose for how often the watch measures your heart rate and how often you exercise, your mileage may vary.

The Zepp app is also decent, though not as slick as some other smartwatch apps. You can see basic tiles with information like heart rate, workouts, and sleep score in an easily understood layout. But it’s not what I’d call perfect. There are some wonky translations here and there, but nothing that’s incomprehensible. For non-metric users, there are times where the Zepp app will revert to metric units even if you have your settings on Imperial. For example, in my outdoor running activities, my split times are per kilometer even though I’m tracking my distance in miles. (I wish I was running 6'24" per mile, but alas, that’s my pace per kilometer.) And while you can view your long-term data, it’s not presented in an intuitive way in the app. For instance, to see all my workout records, I can’t just hit the activity tile. I have to tap the teeny menu that says All Records in the upper right corner of the tile, which is simple enough once you know where it is, but I tripped up enough times that it was annoying.

The Zepp E is best when it comes to health-tracking, but you’re not really getting anything here that you can’t get elsewhere. Sleep-tracking was accurate compared to my Oura Ring; both consistently logged the same hours slept per night, gave me similar sleep quality scores every night, and roughly corresponded when it came to sleep stages. Unlike the Bip S, the Zepp E also correctly noted when I woke up in the middle of the night. The Zepp E also has a beta “sleep breathing quality” metric, but I didn’t consider it particularly useful, because the description didn’t really explain how it was measured or what it meant for my overall health. I assume the feature relies on the SpO2 sensor, because that’s what other smartwatches use to give comparable analysis, but again, it wasn’t explained in the app, and the tips for improving were things you could easily Google: don’t drink before sleeping, lose weight, and exercise more.

Activity-tracking was also decent. The Zepp E doesn’t have built-in GPS, which means it relies on your phone. That’s disappointing in the sense that phone-free runs aren’t an option if you want accuracy. When running with my phone, the Zepp E reported distances that were generally within 0.5 miles of the MapMyRun app. For instance, on a 3.1-mile run logged by my phone, the Zepp E reported 3.08 miles and the Apple Watch SE recorded 2.98 miles. This was roughly the same for the seven test runs and the two test walks I did with the Zepp E, Apple Watch, and my phone. There was, however, one exception. During one test run, the Zepp E failed to find GPS—which was odd given my phone was on me—and logged a 3.06-mile run as 2.29 miles. That is just wildly incorrect and makes me think if you did leave your phone at home or if you’re a treadmill runner, you might get wonky results.

Heart rate-tracking, however, was more reliable. The Zepp E was generally within 5 beats per minute of both the Apple Watch SE and my Polar H10 chest strap. That said, during my runs, I noticed the occasional lag when it came to reporting my heart rate. I’d lift my wrist and it’d take a second for my metrics to update. Not a huge deal, just kind of annoying if you’re the type that frequently checks in mid-run.

I tested the SpO2 app against the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 and my partner’s Apple Watch Series 6. They all gave me similar numbers (96%, 95%, and 96%), and are equally annoying in that you have to sit really still to get measurements. There’s no real flashy feature that utilizes SpO2 sensor yet, so the fact the Zepp E has it is sort of...useless. In the app itself, there’s no real context of how your SpO2 results relate to the rest of your health. There is a short explanation about how it can be used to monitor respiration, but no context for why you might care about that. In the app, it’s buried in several menus and not easily accessible from the home screen. It’d be one thing if it was factored into a recovery or “readiness” score, but that’s nowhere to be found.

In the same vein, I didn’t really get much out of its stress-tracking. In a week, my stress levels, which are based on my heart rate variability measurements, ranged from 11-96. Meaning, sometimes I was very chill and sometimes I was extremely not chill. I can tell you that without a smartwatch, and this feature didn’t help me understand my HRV any better. Like the SpO2 app, stress-tracking is also buried in a secondary menu, and it would be extremely easy to miss completely if you didn’t know it was there. For what it’s worth, the Fitbit Sense also tracks stress, but in a much more holistic, meaningful way.

One thing the Zepp E does have going for it is the PAI metric. Old Mio users might be familiar with it, as that’s where it comes from. (Huami acquired Mio in 2018.) For the uninitiated, PAI stands for Personal Activity Intelligence, and it’s a score that tries to simplify whether you’re getting the appropriate amount of activity per week—sort of like Fitbit’s Active Zone Minutes. The idea is to have 100 PAI over a 7-day period, and how many PAI you’re awarded for an activity is supposedly personalized based on your demographic data. It’s a bit hokey, but as far as metrics go, it’s a more useful measure than just going off steps alone. That said, you’d get this from any Huami wearable. The Bip S also uses it, so it’s not as if this is specific to the Zepp E.

That’s the problem with the Zepp E. You’re effectively paying $250 for a nice design and multi-day battery life. It’s not that the Zepp is a bad watch. It’s that you can get that and more for a similar price elsewhere. While I prefer the size of the Zepp E’s display, the Samsung Galaxy Active 2 is the better overall value given the wider feature set, especially if you like pretty, round watches. If you don’t mind square displays, the Apple Watch SE and Fitbit Versa 3 are more feature-rich, aren’t hideous, and are around the same price. Even Huami makes pretty compelling alternatives with the Amazfit GTS and GTR, which cost around $130 on Amazon and have built-in GPS.

If the Zepp E wants to be a premium smartwatch, it needs to at least have built-in GPS, NFC payments, or something to set it apart from budget watches. That could have been SpO2 and stress-tracking, but in both cases I found these seemingly premium features to be half-assed, and they weren’t meaningfully featured in the Zepp app’s health dashboard. For basic fitness-tracking and design, hybrid analog watches deliver the same kind of connected GPS-tracking and metrics, and they’re often less than $200. Many are also quite fetching on the wrist.

The Zepp E has budget features in a premium body. If you can find it on sale for under $200 (ideally $180 or under), I’d say the Zepp E is a watch you should consider. But at full price? Honey, you can do better.

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nautilusopus · 7 years ago

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The Number I

Chapter 10: BCAAE

I've been Da Vinci coding your collective asses this entire time and no one noticed. This entire fic is numbers. The words are numbers. Everything from here on out is numbers. This was all an elaborate ARG. Everything is code. Blonde, brunette, readhead.

Just to be clear, that's what you guys are reading this thing for, right? The fucking awful jokes?

Speaking of code this thing was a nightmare to actually format and might look wonky on mobile. I didn't want to fuck with image embedding because I couldn't find a good host site but I might have to. Fuck.

Thank you to @fury-brand, @cateringisalie, and @limbostratus for looking this over.

There are holes in the world, and spaces between numbers. Neither should exist. Cloud starts noticing them, and he isn't the only one who has. And unfortunately for him, he's both. (Contains graphic depictions of violence.)

It took Aeris a moment at first to figure out whether or not she was dreaming.

She was certainly lying down. Perhaps she'd simply dreamt getting into the tank?

She sat up and looked around -- definitely still hazy. Her arm hurt like mad, too. Maybe not dreaming, then.

Still, her surroundings were a bit clearer. She was in the enclosed space again, and this time there was a light coming from somewhere across from her -- a hole, perhaps. She stood still for a moment and took stock of the sensations she was experiencing again. She moved her left thumb, then her forefinger, and then her middle finger. They definitely felt like fingers. She opened and closed her hand -- was it a hand? Maybe she just wanted to believe it was one.

She noticed something else that she hadn't before, perhaps because she wasn't quite convinced she was awake. Her muscles felt tense, as though she were crouched at the bottom of a pool, ready to push off. As she walked over to the hole, her body felt strangely light.

She reached forward, and found more space behind the hole in the wall; it was an opening after all. She heard a noise behind her, and it suddenly occurred to her that the hole had been a perfect rectangle, but she had already hauled herself up and her moment carried her out the window and onto the ground below. She was surprised at the ease with which she landed. She'd certainly never been that physically able on her own two feet.

She had two feet, didn't she? Two something, anyway.

Flat. It was almost perfectly flat. It could have been a natural migration trail but for the structures lining it on either side. The sky -- and it had to be the sky, the space above her was so large -- sprawled out before her. It was spattered with stars.

This was more than she could have hoped for in a thousand years. She hoped they'd finally gotten imaging sorted out. Zack would probably lose his mind at what she was seeing, if the notes she'd been making hadn't gotten everyone riled up already.

The structures were blocking her view, though. She'd have to find somewhere higher up.

She took a few steps forward. Apart from the pain on her right side, she still felt strangely energetic. She cautiously broke into a careful jog.

It felt incredible. Aeris wondered if maybe that was why people ran for their own enjoyment, if it felt this good. She went a bit faster, and the ground seemed to fly under her feet, every movement effortless, the kind of running she'd only experienced in dreams, when she'd been able to will herself to wherever she wanted. She was certain she couldn't run this fast herself.

She still felt light. Perhaps the gravity was lower here? Only one way to find out.

Aeris ran another few steps and leapt into the air.

She must have sailed about five metres up, and for a moment she was certain about her gravity theory until she began to fall again at about the speed she was used to on earth. She felt her heart abruptly jump into her throat as the ground hurtled towards her. She twisted about in mid-air, trying to get her bearings and managed to stumble onto her feet atop one of the structures as her weight settled again.

My legs are like a bouncy castle was probably not the most scientific note she could have taken, but she wrote it out anyway. She broke into a run again, noting the perfectly flat surfaces she was sprinting across. It all felt so effortless.

Aeris reached the tallest building she could find and turned her gaze skyward. There were so many stars here -- the kind of sky she'd seen once or twice out in the country, far away from any light pollution. She began focusing intently on a particular patch of the sky, making a note for them to retrieve an image. The quality would probably be terrible, but anything for them to study would be worth straining over a grainy, blurry picture compiled from brainwaves from several hours. She began categorising each patch of sky, making her own observations about what she could see. The world continued to sharpen painfully and blur around her at the same time, but she was certain she saw something move out of the corner of her eye...

Then that something was in front of her, towering over her and filling her vision. Whatever it was, it was big.

OUT PLEASE NOW, she wrote. A moment later, the lid was popped to the tank and she was pulled out of it. Zack joined Lazard in helping her out. Both of them looked ecstatic.

"We got visuals!" he blurted out. "I mean, they're not done rendering yet, but we finally got something! If we can get a few more for comparison we could get a lot of info about the orbits of --"

"Forget the orbits," she said, tripping out of the tank. "And the sky and everything. I saw one."

Zack stared at her. "Saw what?"

"...No idea. But listen -- I think -- I think there's people over there."

Tseng left his place at the desk and approached the three of them. "How do you know?"

"You saw my report, didn't you?" she said, gesturing frantically to the screen. "I'm telling you, there were buildings -- I have hands, I'm almost certain I did."

"We found aliens?," asked Zack, whose eyes had somehow managed to become wider. "Like, alien-aliens? Not just a bunch of animals?"

"I don't know what else it could be. We have to --"

"It's entirely possible you could be anthropomorphising your data," said Tseng. "You're walking on what you've called legs, and running down what you wanted to call a street. A dog isn't smiling when it bares its teeth."

"Yeah, well, if you're so smart why don't you tell me what it is? I'm doing my best. I still can't see anything properly," she said, suddenly trailing off. "Maybe whatever I'm looking through doesn't see very well." She allowed Lazard to hand her a towel and began to pat herself dry. "I ought to ask."

"This seems a whole lot of conjecture," said Angeal, who was the only one that didn't look impressed. Zack made a derisive noise in the back of his throat.

"Man, did you leave your sense of adventure back in Germany or what?" Zack gestured wildly to the screen. "Aliens, Angeal!"

Aeris gestured to Zack pointedly. "See? Someone gets it. Besides, I know what I saw. Look, I'll show you -- "

"Tomorrow, you'll show us," warned Lazard. Aeris grunted.

"Fine, tomorrow then."

"...I do believe you saw something," Tseng added. He had gone back to staring at the screen with an intense look on his face. He left the room without another word.

"Do you think the reason your chest hurts now is because something laid an egg down your throat?" added Zack.

"I haven't seen that movie," replied Aeris. "And if you're going to make fun of me..."

"I'm not," he said, and he sounded serious. "Just... first contact. Man." He shook his head. "I didn't think we'd get this far."

"I did," said Aeris. Zack turned to look at her, and she shrugged again in response.

"My parents were willing to stake their careers on getting this far," she continued. "It had to have been for a reason."

"Is that what you believe?" he asked.

"Of course it is. I didn't have any reason to think they'd be wrong, and I especially don't now. Do you?" Aeris stood up as well and yawned. "Need a nap."

She shuffled off to the showers, feeling Zack's eyes on the back of her head the entire time.

This time felt different. The strange "blackout" she'd experienced, she'd attributed to her brain making up stimuli where there were none. She quickly posed a question to Tseng about it in the notes, because she wasn't sure if the human brain could conjure up the sudden cacophony of millions of voices whispering into her ears. It was gone as quickly as it came. Anything was possible if you were hallucinating, she supposed.

Her weight was supported by something, and the area she was in was well-lit. A brief glance around seemed to indicate it was the same area she'd been in the day before. She then turned and looked to her left.

There was something there, undoubtedly. About the size of... actually, she wasn't sure what size she was here, but whatever it was, it was as big as her. She made another note to begin compiling images as she studied it herself. It was making some sort of noise, or perhaps the noise was coming from behind her. Its face -- and she immediately scolded herself for calling it a "face", because that was an assumption she didn't have much evidence to back up, and of course humans naturally wanted to see faces where there weren't any but she could have sworn -- was moving. It was almost definitely alive. It was close, too; she could have reached out and touched it...

...and then it reached out and touched her. Her world tilted around her as it seemed to grab her and flip her over itself before slamming her into the ground. Hard.

She felt her arm (which she had definitely decided was an arm) being twisted up behind her back, and for split second she almost asked them to pull her out again. Then she hesitated.

This was for real. There were actual sentient lifeforms here that she was actually (literally) in contact with, and she was the only one in a position to gather information about them. If it was worth billions of euros in investment, it was certainly worth a bit of danger as well.

Her resolve faltered slightly when whatever it was behind her settled its weight on her back and began limiting her air supply. She began to struggle against whatever it was -- it seemed fairly light, but it was clamped onto her quite firmly, and the pain she was presently in didn't seem to be helping.

Perhaps she'd leave this bit out of the report until she was done fighting for her life. If her team pulled her now, who knew when she'd get another look at them?

There was more noise around her, and then several more of them appeared nearby. She reared back to throw the one on her back off and flipped over, getting a good look at each one.

You're safe, she reminded herself. Whatever happens to you here you'll be fine. But the pain she was in felt quite real, and the things that has just began to fan out around her were definitely bigger than her. Another thought occurred to her as she felt herself being picked up, and the noise around her increased: would they kill the one she was using? It was still injured from whatever it had fallen off of. Perhaps it was being culled. If it died, that was the end of the project.

She began to struggle harder now, and found herself surprised by how easily she was able to tug herself out of their grasp. Perhaps they weren't very strong. Or perhaps they were a different sort of thing than she was.

Then she noticed the surface she was on. It was soft, and as her hand latched out she grabbed onto something that sturdy and woven and --

Woven. It was fabric.

Upon further consideration, it occurred to her that she seemed to be wearing clothes.

This settled it.

Any plans of escape were immediately put an end to when one of them got their hand into her other arm, the one that was still unusable.

The pain was incredible. The closest thing she'd felt like it was when she was eight and she'd fallen out of a tree and gotten a dislocated shoulder for her trouble. Someone on the other end clearly must have noticed, because the next thing she knew she was waking up in the tank, still sputtering and thrashing.

She shoved a very worried Lazard away from her and blurted out, "I found a blanket!"

There was a moment of stunned, and probably confused, silence.

"Or a -- or a coat, or a toga, or something. They've figured out textiles. They're intelligent. They have to be." She was breathing heavily. Whether it was from the psychological effects of being choked or excitement, she wasn't sure.

Tseng was the first to speak up. "Are you sure?" he asked severely. "Are you absolutely sure?"

"I know I am," she said. "It has to be."

"Did they say anything?" asked Cissnei.

"Might have. I don't know, my hearing's sort of funny. I think they might've been angry."

"Hostile, you mean?" asked Lazard.

"I don't know yet," she said. "Maybe they're panicking. Maybe we did something culturally unacceptable."

"Have you tried to say anything yet?" asked Cissnei. "Do you know if they use a verbal language at all?"

"You keep mentioning fingers," pressed Tseng. "How many? How do you suppose your bones are arranged? You've mentioned bipedal locomotion a few times. How is your balance affected by it?"

"We can't use it," interjected Zack suddenly. Everyone turned to look at him.

"We can't really prove it's a blanket," he said glumly. "All we have is your word of mouth, and some blurry pictures, and whatever meaning you apply to anything you find. No one's gonna believe it if we try to publish this."

She glared at him. "You think I'm --"

"I believe you. Everyone here probably believes you. But you don't have to convince us."

She looked around at the others, NC fluid still dripping from her hair.

"...We did it, though," she said, and there was an edge to her voice now. "I saw them. We -- they can't just throw out that much data. We found aliens, Zack."

"No, like, I know, and that's really cool, and we're all really happy, but --"

"He's right," said Angeal, speaking up. "All we have is things we've gathered on our own. What we need --" and with this he stood up and approached the board, "-- is a message back."

He picked up a marker and began making writing two lists: THINGS WE CAN GUESS and METHODS WE COULD USE.

"Let's think," he said. "We want to send a message to an unknown party. We cannot use symbols of any kind, because they may not recognise them. What do we know about this party?"

"They have eyes," said Aeris, "assuming our contact point is the same species as they are. I'm the same size, about."

Angeal marked "VISUAL MEDIUM" in the GUESS category.

"You said they might be mad, right?" asked Zack.

"Almost definitely mad," said Aeris. "I was attacked. I think."

Cissnei looked at her incredulously. "What in the world did you do?"

"I don't know yet. If we figure this bit out first we can ask."

Angeal reluctantly wrote "HOSTILE (?)" under GUESS, then added "TEXTILES" as an afterthought. "I think that's about it. Any methods we could use?"

"The hydrogen line," said Zack immediately. "That's always the go-to, right?"

"It would be," said Tseng. "But those were always broadcasted as a signal, to be used in another signal. We also have no way of knowing what that is. It's another universe, with potentially another set of natural laws entirely. Perhaps a three here is a two there."

"...Something like that could explain the bug we keep finding," Zack admitted. "But we still can't nail down what it is. Figuring out the laws of physics of an entire universe we've had limited access to could take months. Maybe years."

"We're not thinking about the content of the message, either," said Aeris. Her teeth were beginning to chatter from being soaking wet and cold for so long, but she ignored it. "We need something more than the hydrogen line if we're to avoid my being choked again the next time we visit."

Lazard looked at her in alarm. "You were --"

"I'm fine, let's stay focused," she interrupted, causing Lazard to shake his head in disbelief. "Primes, maybe. Though I suppose that could have the same problem as the hydrogen line."

Angeal nodded and wrote down "SPIN-FLIP" and "PRIME #" under METHODS. It reminded her a bit of a teacher in a lecture hall, until she realised that was almost certainly what he'd done at some point in his life.

"Anyone else?" asked Aeris. "We'll take anything we can get."

There was a pause, and then Cissnei whistled five notes. That got a brief chuckle out of everyone present except Tseng. Perhaps he hadn't seen the movie, or maybe he just didn't "do" jokes.

"It's not a terrible idea," mused Aeris. "There's mathematical basis in it. Five hundred Hertz is still five hundred Hertz whether it's on Earth or on Saturn, so a B is still B."

Cissnei leaned back in her chair and smiled. "Thank you. I try."

"Only within the same universe, though," said Zack. "We're back at the hydrogen problem again."

"We haven't even figured out how we're going to convey this either," added Lazard.

"Or what we're going to convey," said Angeal, nodding. "Something that potentially tells them about who we are without it being construed as a threat."

They continued throwing ideas back and forth across the next fifteen minutes. Aeris and Lazard unconsciously found themselves humming the five notes, and then blaming Cissnei for getting it stuck in their heads. Cissnei looked more than a bit smug by this point.

Eventually she found herself thinking about the song itself. It hadn't just been the five notes, had it? There had been the rest of the conversation. And if an alien culture had picked music as its medium, it was perhaps a very prevalent part of their culture. A good way to send a message that would be understood while telling the receiving party about themselves... assuming they had ears, or any concept of what "sound" was. Would a B be a B in a different atmosphere? What about an atmosphere with different gravity? Was five hundred Hertz still five hundred Hertz in another world? Was she breathing oxygen? Was oxygen the periodic element with eight protons?

She frowned. It would have to be, wouldn't it? Because...

She got up, and walked to one side of the room, and counted the steps. Then she turned around and walked to the other, heel to toe. Then she went back the other way. Fifty steps. And then fifty steps. And then fifty steps.

"...What are you doing?" asked Zack, which got her to look up and realise she was being stared at.

"Walking. I've been walking."

Zack turned to look at Cissnei uncomfortably, then back to her. "...Yeah. That's -- yup."

"No, you don't understand; I've been walking."

Another period of silence. Aeris rolled her eyes.

"Movement is consistent from point A to point B, every time. I can take twenty steps in one direction here, and I'll be twenty steps away from where I started," she explained. "It's the same way in the other world. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to navigate at all. I'd find myself walking backwards, or not moving even if I was moving.

"Therefore," she said, quickly snatching up another marker, "a one is still a one. And so a two has to be a two, because it's two ones, and a three has to be a three. But let's focus on one, the thing that we know exists."

"So hydrogen is is hydrogen because it's gotta be," said Zack quickly, picking up what she was saying. "Because hydrogen is hydrogen because it's the element with one proton. If it had two it would be helium."

"Binary is an option, then," said Angeal, and immediately wrote it down. "Is and is not are non-negotiable states."

"That still doesn't tell us what we're sending," said Cissnei.

"Yes, it does," said Aeris, writing furiously. NC fluid dripped onto the board several times, and she wiped them off on Angeal's uniform and received an indignant glare in response. "Because there's another constant that's found in nearly everything in the world, and if one is one and two is two then it'll be in theirs as well. Any intelligent species with a basic grasp of mathematics -- there!"

Aeris took a step back to allow everyone to admire her handiwork. Simple, to the point, and (hopefully) posing a question that required a response.

"You think that'll work?" said Cissnei, who also seemed to recognise what she'd drawn.

"If they keep off you long enough for you to convey it, it should," said Tseng. "Only do the first part for now. See what happens."

"Get some rest first," said Lazard, throwing her a towel. "We'll try again in twenty-four hours."

Aeris did take a short nap due to the sedative, but after it began to wear off she found she was too wired to actually sleep. She lay in bed, still trying to come to grips with everything they had discovered over the last several hours. If she was right about what it all meant, anyway.

Apparently she wasn't the only one lying awake, because there was a knock on the door to her room.

"It's me," came Zack's voice through the door.

"And Cissnei," added Cissnei. "We were talking and I told him you had snacks."

She opened the door and gave them both a questioning look, then sat back down on her bed. Cissnei sat next to her, and Zack took his place on the desk, rather than using the chair right next to it.

"Tired?" he asked. Aeris shook her head.

"Me either," he continued. "You'd think we would be since we've been at this basically nonstop."

"There is too much to think about," said Cissnei. "What do you think it will be like?"

Aeris pulled the blanket closer to her. Even after the shower she still felt a bit chilled -- it seemed 90% of her time here had been spent soaking wet. "There would be a big cultural exchange. Everyone always thinks it'll lead to... I dunno. The end of racism. One-nation world, or something."

"Not if they want to start a war," said Zack. "We could be contacting something that wants us dead."

"They already know we're here, though," said Aeris. "So the best we can do is run damage control."

Nobody said anything for a moment. The prospect that they had just potentially started a war was not a pleasant one.

"...If they have weaving," began Cissnei, "then do you suppose they have art?"

Aeris shrugged.

"Why does that matter?" asked Zack.

"Any culture that has art is good, isn't it?" Cissnei looked at the floor nervously.

Aeris considered this, then nodded. "Definitely. So it'll be fine."

Zack scratched the back of his neck. "'Good' is kind of a complicated concept..."

"Not when it comes to starting a war," said Aeris.

"Maybe, maybe not," said Zack. "Killing is bad, right? Unless death isn't a concept to you, so you have no frame of reference to why it wouldn't be right. It's wrong to have sex with someone when they don't want to, unless your whole species mates passively with... spores, or egg piles, or something."

"...Do you notice anything on your body that could have been used to lay eggs?" said Cissnei after a moment.

Aeris shot her a look. "That's disgusting. I wasn't exactly paying attention."

"Maybe you should have," said Zack. "Important scientific documentation. Someone's gonna have to write this stuff down. Tseng would have a field day." He looked at the drawer under the desk curiously. "Next time just rummage around downstairs for an ovipositor or something."

"You don't have to be that lurid about it," she said sharply. "And that seems extremely rude."

"What, you think it might be in your mouth instead?"

"I brought you in here for snacks," said Cissnei quickly, before Aeris had a chance to reply.

"Snacks. Sure." Aeris reluctantly scooted herself out of bed and got out the two containers she'd brought in. "I have licorice allsorts and gummy bears."

Zack went for the gummy bears, as predicted. Aeris had a few more of her allsorts before putting the container away -- the restocking period was coming, but until then she wanted these to last.

"The UN is gonna lose their shit," said Zack, who appeared to be strategically de-limbing his bears.

"We'd have to come up with laws for this too. Currency exchange, if they have money. Who gets to say what to them. Whether or not you can legally have sex with them." Aeris shot a look at Zack for the last part.

"I'm not gonna stick it in an alien," he said, popping the remaining gummy bear torso into his mouth and crossing his arms. "Probably, anyway. Are we talking green ladies, or...?"

"This isn't a professional conversation to be having," said Cissnei.

Zack smirked. "Methinks the lady doth protest too much. You brought it up."

"Actually, you did too," said Aeris. "With the spores."

"I was trying to make a philosophical point and you know it."

Aeris sighed. "We should be asleep. Especially you," she said, nodding to Zack. "If everything goes well and we haven't started a war, it'll be up to you to make sure I don't die of radiation poisoning when we finally use that room in the middle."

"...Dios mio, this is really happening, isn't it?" he said quietly.

Aeris handed him the tub of gummy bears and climbed back into bed. "Here. Try not to eat them all at once."

Zack nodded. "See you tomorrow, then. Or whatever counts as tomorrow in here." He left the room, leaving her alone with Cissnei. Cissnei gave Aeris a quick hug, then left as well, still in a daze.

Aeris stared at the door for a moment longer, then turned out the light.

The entire room was buzzing with excitement as Aeris climbed into the tank. They'd spent a few hours prior going over the "photos" she'd taken on her last excursion. She begrudgingly admitted that perhaps they weren't the best evidence. The images were extremely grainy and rendered in greyscale, and more reminiscent of bad photos of the Loch Ness monster than anything else.

The data was more useful, though the persistent bug that was present in nearly all of it was starting to become a problem. They wouldn't be able to present a good deal of their findings if the scientific community considered it inaccurate and flawed.

Aeris thought she had been finally getting used to the process, but when Zack began to count down again she found the nerves catching up to her again. She didn't have much time to dwell on it as she was flung through that strange deep space and opened her eyes.

She had a split second to process that she was still surrounded, and that she could move her right arm again, before something pressed up against her neck. It felt sharp. It was being held by, or attached to, one of the figures to her left. Most of them had been slightly larger than her, but this one appeared a bit smaller.

She moved very slowly, keeping her eyes on the room itself. She would have made eye contact, but some species on Earth considered that a threat. She didn't want to take her chances.

She began to feel around the room. The figure moved with her, keeping its... whatever-it-was nearby her throat. She was surprised at how soft everything was here. Perhaps it was all plant fibre.

She found a large flat surface with nothing clearly on it that gave easily under her fingers. Perfect.

She wrote her message into it, neatly and deliberately. The figure next to her was making noise, and as much as she strained to listen to it, she couldn't really make out much more than that.

She stepped back, admiring her handiwork with a small smile. She documented a picture of it as well. Then she requested an extraction.

They pulled her out of the tank and dried her off. No one left the room just yet. Everyone was silent. Zack was nervously rolling the ball around on his desk. Tseng kept tapping his fingers on his chair. Aeris picked at the towel, and tried to think of something to say, and failed, and picked at the towel some more.

There was nothing left to do but wait.

"Fucking --!"

"Sorry. Y'know, if you held still it wouldn't hurt as much."

"I am holding still."

"No, you're not. There!"

Yuffie stepped away from him with the cast and the tray of cut stitches as Cloud gingerly tested out his arm. It still looked awful, but the bone had healed almost completely, and the only thing left on his flesh was another jagged scar -- one of many at this point. It felt stiff, and he couldn't raise it above his head without him forcing it with his other arm, but it was nice to have some degree of independence again.

"You're gonna be all lopsided now," said Yuffie, gesturing to his left arm. Cloud shrugged, and again regretted doing so.

"I'll get a good workout in later. Maybe grab lunch first, though." He glanced out the window and blinked in surprise. It was pitch black outside.

"Or not. I didn't realise it was so late."

Yuffie stared at him. "...It's not, Cloud. It's... what are you talking about?"

"I -- look, it --" He gestured to the window again, and froze.

The black was seeping in through the window now, and from the roof, and up from the floor, which seemed to empty into an abyss below him. He looked around in a panic and immediately went for the knife under his pillow as Yuffie just stood there staring at him, shouting his name as he could feel his thoughts being smothered.

He dropped the knife a moment later. He stood there motionless, swaying slightly.

Yuffie snatched up the knife and put it to his throat.

Cloud looked down at the knife, and very slowly, purposefully proceeded to his desk. Yuffie lowered the knife again, puzzled, and said his name. Cloud was long gone, and didn't respond.

He began carefully touching the things on his desk -- the papers, the wood itself. An empty beer can crumpled in his grip, and Yuffie raised the knife to his throat again. His hand eventually landed on the wall above his desk.

He flattened a hand against it, as though testing something. Then he raised it again, and began to engrave something. Yuffie stood there, and Cloud looked at her once or twice, seeming more or less uncaring.

The whole thing was over in about thirty seconds. Cloud suddenly crumpled into a heap on the floor and groaned.

He curled himself up, pulling his head down to his chest. He had tried that time -- really, really tried. But he hadn't been able to fight off Sephiroth, either, so he didn't know why he'd expected to be able to fight this. Too weak.

It had happened again. It was going to keep happening. There was nothing he could do to stop it and it was going to happen over and over again until it got him killed or he just lost it himself.

Yuffie bent down to help him up, and he shoved her roughly away from himself. "I'm fine," he snapped.

She crossed her arms and sat down on the bed angrily. "Whatever. Get up on your own time."

She likely would have left if she could, Cloud realised. They'd started stationing people with him to watch him constantly. Because he was a danger to himself and the people around him, probably.

He bit a splinter out of his finger solemnly. It had him punching holes in plywood now. None of this made sense.

He looked up at what he'd been made to draw, frowning slightly. It looked like aimless scribbling to him. Yuffie was looking at it now too.

"What's --"

"Dunno. So don't ask."

Yuffie stuck her tongue out at him as Tifa and Jessie burst through the door. They looked at Cloud, and then Yuffie, and then what they were staring at.

Cloud raised a hand to blow the entire wall to shreds, and Jessie caught it. "Wait."

"For what?" he spat. "For it to come back?"

"Cloud, look at it. Actually look."

He reluctantly lowered his hand and looked. And looked, and then shook his head.

"I don't know," he said. "Just looks like they wanted me to wreck my bedroom."

"I've seen that before." Jessie was now looking at it intensely. "I can't put my finger on where."

"It's probably something I've drawn before on my paperwork," muttered Cloud, glancing at all the unfinished forms on his desk. "Kinda looks like an electrical diagram, a little. If you squint."

Cid leaned in the doorway just then. "Did all y'all come rushing up here for any reason, or...?"

"Get in here and look at this," said Tifa, ushering him in.

"Did he lose his shit again?"

Cloud glared at Cid in response. "Fuck off."

"Just asking. So, what..." he trailed off, as his eyes landed on what Cloud had engraved in the wall.

o oo oo oo

He turned back to Cloud quizzically. "You put that there?"

Cloud shook his head. "No. Whatever it was did. That's all it came here to do, I think. It left after."

Cid stared at Cloud, then turned back to the drawing.

"Fuckin' hell," he breathed. Cloud looked back up at him.

"...You know what it is?" asked Yuffie. Cid nodded.

"I know what it is, yeah. If I'm right. Which I am."

Cloud's breath caught in his chest for a moment. "What is it? Is -- will it help me get rid of them?"

"Probably not. That's a message in a bottle, and we're gonna throw it back."

Cloud looked between the wall and Cid. The man looked... excited. It unsettled him.

"Cid, what --"

"Back when I was in the space program, we'd use to send out messages like that via satellite," explained Cid, who was now inspecting the wall closely. "Nobody thought we'd ever get anything back, but it was to let the universe know we existed. Prime numbers was one of 'em. That there's another one -- the golden ratio. Identifiable patterns that would exist everywhere no matter what."

Tifa looked at Cloud. It was good to know she seemed just as lost as he did -- neither one of them had finished school. Perhaps this was something they'd have covered.

"Get back up, kid. And put some gloves on. You're gonna pick up where they left off."

Cloud retrieved his gloves from under his bed where he'd tossed them carelessly a week ago, and under Cid's instructions, added a few more dots.

oo o o oo oo oo o

"...I don't want to talk to it," said Cloud after they finished. He sat back down on his bed and went back to picking wood out of his hands. "I want it to piss off."

"Well, tough goddamn titties, because it's made an effort to talk to you. You think it'll stop if you ignore it?" Cid sat down next to him. "That'll have to do. We're gonna run out of space if we do more of it."

"...It's gonna come back," said Cloud. "It'll keep happening, won't it?"

No one said anything. Cloud swallowed thickly.

"Everything just... stops, when it -- when it shows up. It's like being dead, but you're still there."

Cid put his hand on Cloud's shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze. No one really felt safe leaving him with just Yuffie now. Jessie went downstairs and fetched the others, just in case it happened again.

As it stood, they didn't have to wait long. An hour later, Cloud seized up again, and began to stare at the wall.

The room was absolutely silent as they watched the screen, waiting for a reply from Aeris. The cameras had been set up, though there wasn't much for them to look at, and none of them really knew much about framing a shot anyway.

Zack fidgeted with the ball at his desk. He exchanged a nervous glance with Tseng, who had gone back to tapping on his chair. Angeal stood stock still directly in front of the screen.

Numbers began to appear on it.

Zack stopped breathing and clutched the rubber ball tightly enough to leave marks in the surface.

8 -new

13 -new

The room was silent for a moment longer. Then Zack jumped violently as Angeal let out a triumphant yell that sounded like something out of a drill sergeant. Cissnei grabbed him and shook him.

"We did it!" she screamed.

"I know!" he yelled back. "I know, we fucking did it!" He felt himself shaking from sheer giddiness. He looked back over towards Lazard. He was applauding quietly. Tseng had turned away from the group to get out of the view of the cameras, but Zack was pretty sure he was crying.

"Look!" shouted Angeal suddenly, and pointed at the screen. There were more numbers coming in.

Cloud had been staring for ten minutes before he raised his hand again. He put a few more holes in the wall then: 21.

Someone took his hand gently and guided it to another part of the wall. Cloud seemed to understand, and punched holes where his hand was moved. They were bunched together more tightly to save space, but the next one was 34, and then 55.

Cloud pulled his hand away and wrote another on the very edge of the wall, reaching from the floor to the ceiling: 89.

Then his hand dropped. He stood there until someone placed something into his hands. A pen, and a piece of paper.

He sat down on the ground and began to draw, mangling the pen as he had the wall, but not before he managed a very crude silhouette of a naked man and a woman, their hands raised in greeting. There were more marks then -- one dot beneath a number 1, and two dots beneath a 2, all the way to nine. A circle -- a 0 -- was positioned over no dots at all.

He began to write something else, but the pen was mangled beyond the point of use at that point. He stopped, and went very still.

Cloud let go of the pen, staring at what he'd drawn. There was ink all over his hands. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes again, and he forced them down. He'd already cried twice in front of his family, and that was well over his allotted amount of times of never.

He handed off the drawing wordlessly to Reeve, who had come up behind him now. Reeve stared at it, then handed it off to Cid. The two of them were now muttering to each other, but none of what they were saying made any sense to him. Cloud leaned against the wall he'd ruined and opened his mouth to ask what any of it was supposed to mean.

Before he could ask, there was a loud crash as shards of glass came raining down over him. He managed to duck his head to avoid the worst of the damage, and everyone scrambled away from the window that had just exploded next to him, and then from the cloud of fire that sprayed out from the centre of the room. Cloud barely managed to reach out to the flames and shape them inward in time to keep the whole room from going up, and Tifa had to smother the rest of the fire with his blanket. When she had finished, she lifted it up, and they all turned to stare at the remains of the Molotov that had been flung in through Cloud's window.

#the number i #spitegarbage #formatting sucks and i hate it #*ALGEBRA INTESIFIES*

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slrlounge1 · 6 years ago

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Nikon Z6 Review – Does Sony Have Serious Competition?

If you’re a Nikon shooter, 2018 was a very exciting year. Even though the D850 was launched in the fall of 2017, most of us couldn’t get our hands on them until early 2018…followed by the launch of the Mirrorless Nikon Z6 & Z7 cameras.

As we mentioned in his Z7 review, the Z system is a massive leap forward for Nikon. The mount is fully electronic in its communication compared to the mechanical aperture control systems, and it has one of the largest diameter mount systems on the market (for SLR systems), allowing Nikon to expand in two directions with the large “exotic” 58mm f/0.95 and the compact 14-30mm f/4.

[REWIND: The Nikon Z7 And Z6 | Who Will Like Them, And Who Will Not]

I’ll be fair and fully disclose that I fell in absolute love with this camera during the process of testing it out. I was looking for a new camera body and decided pretty quickly that it was the body for me. I have been mostly shooting live events and studio/lifestyle-based portraits for the last two years, so that’s what I focused on with my time with the camera. I did manage to sneak in a few landscape shots here and there. You can thank the rare snow-day in Las Vegas for that!

NIkon Z6, Nikkor 17-35mm – 1/800 sec, f/11, ISO 110

For the review, I had the Z6 body with 24-70mm f/4 lens and the FTZ Adapter kit, and I tested all of my existing lenses on that adapter, including the following:

Sigma A 35mm f/1.4

Sigma 60-600 f/4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM

Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 EX DG HSM

Nikon 50mm f/1.4 G

Nikon 85mm f/1.4 G

Nikon 17-35mm f/2.8 IF-ED

All of the above lenses worked incredibly well, except for my old Sigma 70-200mm. It was hard to tell if it was my lens just being old and kinda broken (it has been pretty beaten up over the years) or if it wasn’t quite supported by the FTZ mount. Either way, that was basically the only lens I didn’t use throughout my testing.

[REWIND: Nikon Z7 Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera Review]

Nikon Z6, Nikkor S 24-70mm F4 S, 1/160 Sec, at f/5.6, ISO 100

Technical Specifications For The Nikon Z6 ($1,996.95)

24.5MP FX-Format BSI CMOS Sensor

EXPEED 6 Image Processing Engine

UHD 4K30 Video; N-Log & 10-Bit HDMI Out

273-Point Phase-Detect AF System

Built-In 5-Axis Vibration Reduction

0.80x 3.6m-Dot EVF with NIKKOR Optics

3.2″ 2.1m-Dot Tilting Touchscreen LCD

3.69M-dot OLED viewfinder

12 fps Shooting; ISO 100-51200

Top-Panel Dot-Matrix OLED; XQD Card Slot

UHD 4K capture up to 30p

10-bit 4:2:2 N-Log output over HDMI

Up to 100Mbps H.264 8-bit internal video capture

SnapBridge Wi-Fi system with Bluetooth

FTZ Mount Adapter

Nikon Z6, FTZ Adapter, Sigma 35mm F/1.4 A, 1/1000 Sec at f/1.4, ISO 100

Nikon Z6 vs The Nikon Z7 – WHat’s The Difference?

Megapixels

First, we should talk about the elephant in the room. What’s the difference between the Nikon Z6 and the Z7? The simplest and most significant difference is simply the sensor size. The Z6 has 24 Megapixels whereas the Z7 has nearly double that at 45.7 Megapixels and no AA Filter for additional sharpness & detail rendering. So if you’re a pixel junkie, this may be the thing that makes you choose the 7 over the 6. For me, it wasn’t a big deal as I already have a larger sensored D800, so If i need the extra pixels, it’s an easy swap.

Nikon Z6, Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4 S, 1/25 sec at f/4.0, ISO 4000

ISO

Next, we have the ISO sensitivity. The lower MP count on the Z6 allows it to hit higher ISO settings. Starting from 100 going up to 51,200 with “extended” options ranging from ISO 50 to ISO 204,800!

The Z7 starts with a native ISO of 64 and goes up to 25,600 with “extended” options ranging from ISO 32 to ISO 102,400. So, if you’re shooting more low light based work, now it’s looking like the Z6 is more your target.

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This was a killer feature for me. I have been covering a lot of events in low and terrible lighting, and while the autofocus (we’ll talk about that later) can be a bit wonky on the Z6 in low light, its performance overall is absolutely amazing. While some other reviews talk about the banding seen in low light images, I wasn’t able to replicate this in any of my “real-world” testing. In fact, everything I pushed through seemed to outperform and exceed my expectations on the high ISO front.

Nikon Z6, Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4 S, 1/800 sec at f/4, ISO 8000

Nikon Z6, Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4 S, 1/800 sec at f/4, ISO 8000 at 100% Crop

Considering I am coming from working with the D800, this is a MASSIVE improvement in high ISO range that was just not achievable for me previously. From my research, it is pretty much on par with the D850’s capabilities, which is again impressive in its own right since the Z6 is half the price.

Autofocus

Both systems features the new Hybrid Autofocus system with contrast & phase detection that covers 90% of the sensors surface. Now here’s where they get different. The Z6 has 273-phase detection areas where the Z7 has 493 points.

Both cameras have a variety of AF modes including face detection, subject tracking, and according to the roadmap, the firmware release scheduled for May will include support for eye-detection! I personally enjoyed the AF system and not having to focus and recompose my shot. I love my D800, but it does drive me crazy sometimes having to centerframe my shots to focus when I’m in a rush. This isn’t an issue at all on the Z6.

Nikon Z6, FTZ Adapter, Sigma 35mm f/1.4 A, 1/100 sec at f/1.4, ISO 400

4k Video

Both cameras can record 4k video, but the larger sensor on the Z7 means it does full pixel readout in DX mode (APS-C) and line-skipping in full frame mode. This means you get less sharpness and more noise at high ISOs with the latter.

The Z6 can deliver the highest quality in FX/Full frame mode.

Continuous Shooting

Normally, I’m all about the high megapixels, but here’s where the Z6 really shines. It can shoot up to 12fps in burst mode, whereas the larger sensor Z7 peaks at 9fps. The Z6 can capture up to about 32 lossless compressed RAW files at 12 or 14-bit before you start to hit the end of the buffer.

Nikon Z6, Sigma 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3, 1/200 sec at f/11, ISO 280

8K Time-Lapse

Both cameras have a built in time-lapse feature; the difference between them is the Z6 records a maximum 4k resolution, whereas the Z7 can record 8K time-lapse files just like its DSLR counterpart, the D850. You’ll have to use third-party software for this on your computer, but you can still do it.

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Battery Life

The “official” ratings from Nikon state the Z6 and Z7 are pretty close at 310 and 330 shots respectively. Now this doesn’t seem like much considering the DSLR counterparts can easily get over 1000 frames on a battery charge. I can’t speak to the Z7 (as I’ve not tested it), but I can confirm I’ve gotten well over 600-700 shots on a single charge of the Z6 battery. While it’s not as great as the DSLR counterparts, it’s pretty well known that the EVF’s on Mirrorless cameras will drain batteries much faster than the DSLR versions.

A nice feature is on the new EN-EL 15b batteries where you can charge the cameras via USB-C (including while in use) and you can even still use the older EN-EL 15 & EN-EL 15a batteries. With those, however, you can’t charge via the USB.

Nikon Z6, Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4 S, 1/500 sec at f/4, ISO 50

Z6 vs Z7 Price

Finally, we have what everyone really wants to know, the price points. The Z6 (body only) is $1996.95 and the Z7 (body only) is $3,396.95. It’s a pretty steep jump from the Z6 to the Z7, and for me, since I didn’t need the extra Megapixels, the 6 was the perfect choice.

Nikon Z6, Nikkor 85mm F/1.4 G, 1/125 sec at f/1.4, ISO 400

NIKON Z6 Pros

Rich Colors that match previous generations of the Nikon brand and enhance them.

Ergonomic improvement over the D800 and older DSLRS (D500 & D850’s are similar in form to the Z series).

I found the grip to be a perfect size for my hand and probably the most comfortable camera I’ve held.

For a more detailed look at the ergonomics, check out this Nikon Z7 Review, since the bodies are practically identical.

Intuitive controls.

The system took away a lot of the normal buttons a Nikon user would be used to and placed them into a pretty-easy-to-navigate menu (if you’re familiar with Nikon), which is quickly customizable and accessible from the touch screen system.

In-Body Stabilization.

I shot with this camera in pretty much every environment I could think of and I found—with still shots—the stabilization worked better than any other system I’ve been hands-on with.

Fast & responsive touch screen.

Being able to pinch, zoom, and pan on an image review was pretty incredible to me. You quite literally see what you get on the back of this system in incredibly rich and detailed color. This makes it easy to tell if you need to retake your shot for any reasons.

Lightweight system.

This! So much this! By far the lightest camera I’ve ever owned. Hiking and working with this strapped to my body was an admitted relief compared to dual-wielding DSLR’s for a long day at a wedding or event.

120p video includes sound and full sensor, giving you much more creative control in post.

Silent Shutter means less intrusive image taking during events and important moments.

USB charging AND the ability to use older batteries (without USB charging).

You can even plug a battery pack into this while using it to extend your day!

High ISO outperformed everything I had worked with in the past (except the D850), which blew my mind.

Autofocus.

The Autofocus on the Z6 was one of the fastest and most accurate I’ve ever worked with (except in those low/back-lit scenarios), made even better because you can use the touch screen display on the back to tap->focus->shoot!

Easy to use Intervalometer and Time-Lapse movie recording built in.

No need for a remote or external adapters for this one. You can program pretty much everything in camera now.

Touch Screen Monitor

Easily access nearly every single setting on your camera, including using the touch screen to focus and shoot your images.

Wireless Connectivity & Bluetooth

This is both a Pro and a Con, as in my opinion, the Nikon Snapbridge app has been improved, but it still needs a LOT of work to make it great. Currently, the process for connecting via wifi or bluetooth can be a bit frustrating and clunky, especially if you area already connected to wifi or in an area with a lot of wifi options. That being said, after getting the device connected wirelessly, I could control my camera entirely through the app, get a live view with a snappy response time (compared to Fuji at least), and as I shoot I can sync images directly to my phone for immediate editing or sharing on social media.

NIKON Z6 Cons

When using the FTZ adapter and tripod mounting, the adapter isn’t as “tall” as other mounts such as Metabones or Vello. This means that when you want to change lenses, there’s a good chance you’ll have to take the camera off the tripod and plate first, and then swap the lens, making it a slower process. It’s by no means a deal breaker, but I’m trying to be as objective as possible and explain everything I found to be an inconvenience.

Poor autofocus performance in low light or back-lit settings for both video and stills.

I’ve not experienced anything as bad as what the initial reviewers had stated during the launch, but I did have a lot of missed shots in the similar low light or back-lit settings as described above. While it’s frustrating, it’s still a LOT better than what I’ve had on my D800 and D810, so I’m quite happy still.

Specialized/New (EXPENSIVE) memory card.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it was a “con” that I had to invest in a new memory card to fully review this system, as well as order a specialized card reader.

Single memory card slot.

Like the previous bullet, this one isn’t a deal breaker, but it is worrisome. When shooting weddings and important projects, it’s always better off to be safe and shoot in excess than not have enough and/or actually have a corrupt/stolen/damaged memory card and lose everything.

If you’ve read any of my posts on backups or know me at all, you’ll know I’m pretty hardcore about backing up and ensuring I have duplicates of all my work in case of catastrophe. One thing I’d very much like to see improved upon in future generations for this line is an additional card slot, perhaps for an SD card.

Odd exposure and white balance behavior in mixed light settings with auto ISO, auto white balance, and silent shutter enabled.

This is an insanely unique scenario, but it’s apparently common in the mirrorless world. When shooting with all of those auto-settings enabled along with the silent shutter in an environment with mixed lighting (i.e., tungsten and daylight), you’ll notice some very significant shifts in white balance from image to image, even with the same setting. Simply disabling the silent shutter or any of the other settings seems to eliminate this problem, but be aware that it’s there.

Rolling shutter and warp in video when stabilization is enabled.

Effectively, the stabilization feature is a tad aggressive when used in video. A simple pan motion or walking may cause the footage to be basically unusable.

I have a LOT of video showing this strange behavior; however, it’s all under NDA with client work, meaning, I can’t share it. That said, if you look up a few other reviews (including that from the ambassadors who were at the launch event), you’ll see what I mean.

Of everything that I encountered on this camera that could be considered a “con,” this is the only one that was honestly a breaker for me. Granted, you can simply disable the stabilization on the video and never have that problem, but for a feature so adamantly advertised, I had much greater expectations for it than what was delivered.

Function buttons are both located on the front of the body, making them feel a bit awkward to use.

As mentioned in the last pro above, the wireless app is kinda great to have, but a bit of a pain to get setup and use on the regular.

Sensor is unprotected when you swap lenses.

As noted in our Nikon Z7 review, one thing that threw me off when I first opened the camera up was seeing the sensor exposed to the universe and all its dust! In future iterations, I’d love to see the ability to close the shutter when the camera is turned off to help protect the sensor from the elements. Maybe this will be addressed in a future firmware update, but for now, just remember to really pay attention to your surroundings when you have to change your lenses out.

Nikon Z6, Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4 S, 1/160 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100

Nikon Z6 Review Conclusion

So, what’s my final thought? Well, I already mentioned above that I fell in love with this camera and actually ordered one for myself. So you can gather even with its “cons,” I still highly recommend it for pretty much every avenue of photography (unless you need a much higher megapixel setup, then I’d recommend you go with the Z7 or the D850). The Nikon Z6 body excels for portraiture in an outdoor and studio setting, and is also pretty amazing as an event/wedding/nightlife camera body as well. Even with its occasionally random autofocus, the camera absolutely shines in low light settings.

Nikon really took their time breaking into the mirrorless world. Because of this, they were able to hit the market with a pretty stellar product that meets or beats the competition, and often on a better price point.

If you have a selection of Nikon lenses already in your bags, the Z6 with the FTZ adapter is an absolutely perfect choice to expand your gear collection. If you’ve never used Nikon before or are new to the photography market, this is also a fantastic starting point for you. Jumping into a full frame sensor system, let alone mirrorless, at the price point of $1,996.95, you just can’t go wrong.

As with everything camera-related though, I always recommend trying before you buy. Be sure to hit up your local camera store or rental companies like Borrowlenses & Lensrentals to give it a spin and see for yourself.

What are your thoughts? Have you tested the Nikon Z6 and Z7 bodies yet? Did you buy one already? Let us know in the comments below.

from SLR Lounge https://www.slrlounge.com/nikon-z6-review-sony-finally-has-some-serious-competition/ via IFTTT

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terryblount · 6 years ago

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God Eater 3 Review: Low Effort Manic Monster Munchin’

I’d never played a God Eater before this third entry. I’d seen them on Steam, but they were all low-quality handheld console ports. Yuck! Finally, with God Eater 3, we have an entry developed for PC claiming high-quality visuals, fast-paced combat, and a serious story!

As someone who put 100+ hours into Monster Hunter World last year, I loved the idea of getting another dose of monster hunting fun, but does God Eater 3 deliver? Absolutely on the combat side; not really on the ‘everything else’ side. Let’s dive in.

Last Gen Called; It Wants Its Visuals Back

Let’s begin with the bad. God Eater 3 looks and feels like a last-gen game. I could have sworn this was a port from a 2012 or so PS3 game because it feels like the developers accidentally built the game for last-gen hardware specs.

Some scenes have decent graphics in still images, but the in-game details are quite poor.

This low fidelity feeling is especially unfortunate considering the series’ chief competitor delivered a next-gen visual showcase with 2018’s Monster Hunter World. Whoops!

Outdated & Repetitive Content

Apart from lacking visuals, the game’s content feels outdated, too. There’s only a handful of actual game environments. These are nothing more than glorified arenas without any creative twists or clever layouts. Again, this feels so much like the developers thought they were working with PS3 era memory limitations and crafted functional but boringly basic level designs.

Yes, this is an entire arena…a couple hallways and rooms.

God Eater 3 reminds me of Dragon Age 2. Anyone remember that game? It had a handful of lame arenas you’d play over and over again on a supposedly epic quest. God Eater 3 is exactly like this.

Time and time again the game will excitedly exclaim, “Look, an epic battle awaits!” What actually loads is the same exact arena you’ve played 20+ times. Seriously? Low effort!

This location is pretty cool…but I’ve seen it dozens and dozens of times.

Attempted Grand Story; Totally Tiny Presentation

The same lack of developer effort goes for the story. The game, to its credit, attempts to tell a proper story, with ups and downs, character growth, and emotional weightiness. The game even delves into some quite dark subject matters like human rights, indentured servitude, and outright slavery.

Everybody get in their places and pose for the camera, please!

I do think at the core of God Eater 3 is an appealing story of friendship and freedom that’s worth hearing out. Sure, the dialogue is all very basic and there’s no true exploration of the game’s serious themes. But at least there’s an attempt to build a logical, thought-provoking story and world. Kudos for that.

Sadly, God Eater 3 succumbs to the all-too-common low-budget storytelling pitfalls of tell, tell, tell and show basically nothing. The game ostensibly plays out across a fictional version of Europe, but it feels like a film shot in just a few set locations.

It’s almost laughable how many scenes involve your team standing dramatically across the same backdrops over and over despite supposedly traveling to all these grand locales.

There’s a big world map for the story, but there’s actually very few in-game environments.

This lack of quality presentation kills much of the story’s momentum. If you tell me there’s an epic battle before me, you need to show me an epic battle. If you say something really matters, you’d better not totally forget about it fifteen seconds after the cutscene ends. It feels…low effort!

Here’s a nice tea time cutscene. Too bad these events don’t get expanded upon…

Despite my misgivings, by the end I did care about the story and had grown fond of my ragtag group of former prisoners and oppressed people. I genuinely cared about building a future filled with freedom and peace for my friends. Moreover, the game’s got a very strong ending and nice epilogue.

Only one with the power to resonate may pilot this ship. Thankfully, I can resonate…engage!

The Gameplay Flow

This is the flow of the entire game: load into the tiny mission hub, listen to serious talk, accept an important mission, manage your gear, warp to a tiny arena, engage in a manic brawl, get your loot, maybe see a cutscene, and then get dumped ingloriously back at the tiny mission hub to repeat. It’s not terrible… just simplistic.

Ash Crawler Chrysanthemum: Home, Sweet Home

In regard to the mission hub, most of the between-mission gameplay takes place on your own mobile base, known as an Ash Crawler. There’s real Mass Effect vibes in how you can walk around and explore your crew’s living spaces, talking with them about recent events.

However, the quality of Mass Effect isn’t present. Most of the crew banter is very basic and not voiced, and there’s not much payoff for exploring your tiny base. Low effort base design, basically.

Chatting with some of my crew, discussing philosophy.

Even more unfortunately, often the game forces you to talk to specific people at your base before you can proceed on your next story mission. It would have been nice to have some marker telling you where they’re at instead of wandering around until you find them. A minor annoyance, though, since your base is quite small.

Hyper-Combat Mania!

So far I’ve given you a bunch of reasons to not play God Eater 3, but now it’s time to get to the game’s saving grace. Yes, God Eater 3 redeems itself thanks to its wild and epic combat!

I told you the combat is manic! See me doing some crazy flip while lights flash everywhere?!

Battles in God Eater 3 have a chaotic ultra-frenzied fever dream feel to them. Yes indeed, this game has brilliantly mad fighting. So fast, so furious. Monster Hunter World looks like a slow-motion creaking antique compared to God Eater 3’s hip, stylish, and light-speed stabby-slashy-crushy mayhem!

God Eater 3 versus Monster Hunter World feels very much like Sonic versus Mario from back in the day. On one side you have the meticulously polished Mario and Monster Hunter, but what Sonic and God Eater lack in quality they make up for with a cool and confident “gotta go fast” attitude!

I think I’m winning…wait: is that my lightning or the enemies? Oh well, keep smashing!

God Eater 3 will have you rushing, flipping, slashing, bursting, and linking at break-neck speeds. Jump, double-jump, zoom across the screen, panic as you flip through your items while two gigantic beasties rip you to shreds. The poor camera finds itself dragged about, bewildered, and woefully inadequate, but when combat is this crazy, you just go with it!

Thanks to the incredible versatility of the combat systems, there’s an unexpectedly addicting rush from one combat encounter to the next. A large part of the appeal comes from the countless ways to improve your play and try new things to go faster and kill better next time around.

You can break parts of the monsters for loot and fun! Pretty orange monster part particles!

Combat Gear & Fancy Moves

What makes combat so diverse? Let’s start with the fact you get both a main weapon and a ranged weapon, unlike Monster Hunter World. You also get to pick a shield type. Then you get to select dozens of unique Arts. Those Arts can be augmented and leveled up. And all your gear can have Skills (the equivalent of Monster Hunter World’s Jewels) installed on them.

Naturally, you can also craft and upgrade your gear using monster parts. There’s numerous upgrade trees and paths for each weapon, just like Monster Hunter. Then there’s the four elements, allowing you to have weapons on hand for every monster murdering occasion.

You get a lot of strange loot from each mission. It’s all a bit confusing at first.

Beyond your gear itself, there’s many more combat moves than you’ll find in Monster Hunter World. You’ll be side-stepping, lunging, and performing crazy aerial combat that feels very much like the Devil may Cry series, interestingly enough.

To put it another way, if you enjoyed the freedom of movement of Monster Hunter World’s semi-flying Insect Glaive weapon (my personal weapon of choice), this is what every weapon can feel like in God Eater 3. When you can quickly fly around the combat space, why ever go back to boring attacks on your feet? Ponder that one!

Here’s one of the nicest looking locations. I enjoy zooming around and seeing the sights.

It’s All About Speed-Eating Delicious Gods!

In God Eater 3 we’re all about eating (called devouring) gods (big monsters), and I choose to believe God Eater 3 is called such because it does the god eating three times as fast as other games!

Everything is designed to get you into combat as quick as possible. You can get a mission, get in the arena, and get to fighting within a minute of loading the game, which makes this game perfect for quick-fix gaming.

Load the game up, start devouring monsters, and do it all over again as fast as possible!

What also cuts down on the tedium this genre is often know for is the removal of all that boring hunting for monsters so common in that one series…what’s it called…oh yeah, Monster Hunter. Basically, God Eater 3 serves up the monsters right in front of you, so get devouring!

The combat does have some issues. Many monsters fly about the arena at too-fast speeds with annoying area of effect attacks that often cancel your commands. The targeting system is wonky, and the camera doesn’t help much either. Sometimes combat does devolve into button mashing, but skilled players will learn how to deftly deal with even the most seemingly unbalanced encounters.

So Many Confusing Systems

Another problematic element with the game overall is the over-implementation of strangely worded gameplay systems. You’ve got Burst Arts, Burst Arts Effects, Engage Mode, Link Bursts, Acceleration Triggers, Charge/Quick/Air Devours, and a bunch more systems. It took me a good 10 to 15 hours to finally come to grips with what in the world the game was babbling on about in regard to all this.

There’s a lot of gear to equip and terms to study. (Yes, my weapon is called “King Baboon.”)

Music & Sound

There’s some standout music tracks in God Eater 3. You know the problem with them? Here’s a hint: it’s the same problem with all the content in the game. Yep, repetition. The excellent tracks get played over and over for every emotional or victorious story scene. There’s just not enough variety.

Sound design is minimal. Like most of the development, the game gives you just enough sound effects during combat to make things feel semi-powerful, but there’s almost no environmental audio touches. Cutscene audio has the basic stuff like footsteps, clinks of swords, and bangs of bullets, but that’s about it. Passable but not passionate (the effort…it was low).

One of the many short cutscenes between battles. Clinky clank!

Smart AI Teammates & Multiplayer

One of God Eater 3’s best features is your actually intelligent AI teammates! Perhaps the developers didn’t get the memo: AI teammates are supposed to be stupid and infuriating, duh! Yet somehow this game never once frustrated me with dumb AI. If I was downed in battle, my AI teammates would always rush to rescue me.

Throughout the entire game my companions would heal me, buff me, and help me in every single battle. They’re even powerful and capable of killing many monsters by themselves. Any Monster Hunter World player will tell you your companion AI in that game is infuriatingly stupid, so score a huge point for God Eater 3! Massive kudos to the developers!

We’re all being very serious here…meditating on how best to devour more gods.

Besides AI teammates, you are able to engage in either story-based multiplayer missions or larger 8-player “assault” missions with matchmaking (AI will fill the empty slots, thankfully). Honestly, most people will want to play this game solo since the game already features robust AI teammates. But if you’ve got a good friend to play with, that’s always fun of course!

Technical Performance

On the bright side, this game runs like a champ. It was rock solid for me, with nearly perfect framerates. This is expected given the very dated visuals and lack of complicated rendering techniques, but it’s nice all the same to have a game run very well. So kudos to the developers for delivering a quality PC game with acceptable customization options.

Difficulty & Controls

You’ll probably find the game to be pretty easy if you’re an action game aficionado. I never once in my entire playthrough wiped (had to restart a mission). You get ranked for how efficiently you complete missions, and I probably triple-S ranked (the top rank) about 75% of the missions on my first try.

Just getting another SSS rank in 5 minutes or less. It’s pretty easy, really.

Granted, I’m a serious fan of the Devil may Cry style genre that God Eater 3 borrows heavily from, but I was surprised at the ease of progression compared to Monster Hunter World. In that game I wiped many, many times, so in a way God Eater 3 was a nice change of pace. I liked being able to breeze through the game without worrying about all the micro-management of items and gear, like in most Monster Hunter games.

The game is definitely designed for a controller. The mouse movement is very sensitive, and there’s far too many weird button combinations to make keyboard usage very friendly. Even the default bindings on the controller are a bit weird. Thankfully you can rebind just about everything. I’d recommend changing the guard button to something much less obnoxious.

Dude, Where’s the Armor?!

One very lacking element in God Eater 3 is armor crafting. In fact, there is zero armor crafting. There’s zero armor at all, to be precise. There is optional cosmetic clothing crafting, but these top/bottom items are a bit boring (realistic jackets, tank tops, cargo pants). It’s like you’re shopping at some trendy shopping mall…what is this?

Do you like my raincoat and oddly-taped cargo pants? I got them on sale!

The armor department is yet another way God Eater 3 proves how woefully deficient it is compared to Monster Hunter World. Where are all the awesome looking armor sets to prove how much of an elite hunter I am? Oh…I guess the developers couldn’t be bothered to implement all that…what’s the term I’m look for here? Oh yes, low effort!

Warning: Scantily Clad Girls & Large Breasts

Yes, God Eater 3 continues the dubious anime stereotype of scantily clad girls and jiggly boobs because clearly breast physics is an important development priority over more battle locations or monster armors, right? Methinks they’re pandering to the sexualized anime crowd.

Then there’s the captain of your ship, Hilda. She’s a very strong and smart and capable woman with great voice acting and good writing. Hilda’s basically classy and awesome, but the developers gave her enormous scantily clad breasts for some reason.

Hilda is an excellent character, but her visual design egregiously clashes with her persona.

To add insult to gravity-injury, they didn’t even give her a bra…and put her in an almost bursting top. Seriously, her breasts are so large she may need breast reduction surgery. A lot of people don’t realize the very serious health problems that come along with being in the extreme end of the breast-size bell curve. Maybe God Eater 3 is trying to raise awareness of the issue? Yeah…I’m sure that’s it…

Concluding: God Eater 3’s Target Audience?

God Eater 3 is the perfect case for discounted games. The developers have chosen to give us a content-limited, low effort version of a Monster Hunter game. All told it only took a little less than 30 hours to finish every mission and obtain the highest rank gear. That’s lightning-quick compared to other games in the genre.

Besides all that, they haven’t even reached current day graphical standards. Plus they reuse the same arenas and monsters over and over. Yet they have the audacity to charge full price. Nope!

You’ll be seeing a lot of monsters up close and personal. Over and over.

However, many Monster Hunter fans will absolutely love the ultra-fast change-of-pace from the more plodding and tedious Monster Hunter World. There’s a real scrappy charm to this sort of budget monster hunting experience. It’s a bit of a palette cleanser, letting you chomp up and devour a few gods here and there before returning to the real-deal Monster Hunter World experience.

The Final God-Eating Verdict

God Eater 3 is very much a guilty pleasure sort of game. I really did love playing it, even though the whole time I fully recognized how lacking and lackluster many of the elements are. There’s fun to be had here, and the story is compelling enough that I kept dreaming of what could have been if the developers had put as much energy into this game as Capcom put into Monster Hunter World.

I just devoured this god known as Anubis. He was quite delicious. Next!

When its rival series can deliver a full-fledged modern-generation, immerse evolution of the series, God Eater 3 is simply too limited, too aging, and too stuck in the past to compete. It’s a darn shame, too, because what the genre really needs is a merging of Monster Hunter World’s quality and expansiveness with God Eater 3’s story-building and hyper-fun combat.

Once God Eater 3 goes on sale for 75% off or so, then I’d say it’s a real value and worth your time. For now, it’s probably best to avoid paying such a high price for such a low effort production.

Addictive, manic combat

Smart, helpful AI teammates

Colorful cast of characters

Comfortable mission grind

So many weapons and skills

Lengthy story, many missions

Strong ending, nice epilogue

Technically solid, runs great

A scrappy charm to it all

Very repetitive gameplay

Not enough diverse locales

Locations are basic arenas

Every mission is the same

Lacks armor crafting

Reuses enemies too often

World needs show, not tell

Outdated visuals and design

Sexualized anime stuff

Playtime: 28 hours total. Nick blazed through the main story and every optional mission in 24 hours (not nonstop!). Another 4 hours was spent farming for the best end-game gear. And that was that!

Computer Specs: Windows 10 64-bit computer using an Intel i7-3930k CPU, 32GB of memory, and a nVidia GTX 980 Ti graphics card.

Also read the God Eater 3 PC Performance Analysis.

God Eater 3 Review: Low Effort Manic Monster Munchin’ published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

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theconservativebrief · 6 years ago

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With President Donald Trump’s administration dismantling federal climate policy as fast as it can, all eyes have turned to the states. As last month’s Global Climate Action Summit in California illustrated, state leaders are stepping forward with big promises and inspirational rhetoric, attempting to rally the domestic troops, build some momentum, and signal to the world that the US isn’t a lost cause.

The grim reality is that it’s going to take a minor miracle for states to pick up all the slack. A lot of things need to break just the right way, in a lot of states. This dramatic context has lent an added intensity to climate policy battles even in smaller and lower-emitting states. Every battle is now a proxy battle in the bigger war for America’s climate soul.

The fight has now come to Washington state around Initiative 1631, the Carbon Emissions Fee Measure.

This November, for the second major election in a row, citizens of Washington will vote on a ballot initiative that would put a price on carbon emissions (among many other things). The first such ballot initiative, in 2016, failed, part of a long series of failures of climate policy in the state.

This year’s effort hopes to ride the electoral blue wave and break Washington’s climate losing streak. If it passes, Washington will take its place as a part of a growing West Coast climate vanguard, alongside California and Oregon, representing close to 20 percent of the US economy. If it fails, it will not only be a crushing blow to an already battered state climate community, but it will cast doubt on the larger states-will-save-us narrative, which is just about the only narrative US climate hawks have left.

To understand the climate policy at stake in Washington in 2018, it helps to contrast it to the one that went down to defeat in 2016.

That ballot initiative was called I-732. (I wrote a long story about it, if you want the full drama.) It’s a complicated tale, and a bit of a Rashomon situation among state climate hawks, but what’s clear is that the coalition behind 1631 is attempting to do just about everything, from politics to policy, the opposite way.

‘Twas not to be. Yes On 732

732 was a “revenue neutral” carbon tax, which means all the revenue raised by the tax would have been automatically returned as cuts in other taxes; the government would receive no new discretionary revenue to spend on carbon reductions or anything else. This is a longtime favorite climate policy among economists and wonks. It “taxes bads” and reduces distortionary taxes at once, all with no net increase in taxes, thus improving economic efficiency (at least in economists’ models).

The tax would have started at $15 per ton in 2017, rising to $25 per ton in 2018, and then rising every year thereafter at 3.5 percent plus inflation, topping out at $100 a ton (in 2016 dollars).

By contrast, 1631’s carbon fee would start at $15 per ton in 2020 and rise $2 a year (plus inflation) until 2035, where it would reach, depending on inflation, around $55. As long as the state is on track to hit its carbon targets, that’s where it will stay.

Yes On 1631

In a great explainer at the Northwest sustainability think tank Sightline, Kristin Eberhard and David Van’t Hof offer a helpful way to think about the difference: Through the 2020s, 732 would have had carbon emissions in the state in the $30s to $40s; 1631 will have it in the $20s to $30s.

1631’s lower carbon price means that it will rely a great deal on investment of the carbon revenue to achieve similar emission reductions.

“Frankly, this is an investment vehicle much more than a price signal,” says Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who has publicly backed, and is raising money for, 1631. “It’s a relatively low price signal, well below the real social cost of carbon. But you get the [carbon] savings from the investment side. We’ve modeled that, and I feel very confident it will work.”

Supporters say reductions are locked in by regular state planning and review. “Carbon reduction investments and the price are tied to current state emissions reduction targets of roughly 25 million tons per year by 2035,” says Becky Kelley, president of the Washington Environmental Council.

Still, it’s a big bet to make on an investment-centric strategy.

Despite what its opponents on the left often said, in terms of its income effects, 732 was progressive — strongly so, maybe more so than the policy now being proposed in its stead. Its tax shifts (a cut in the state sales tax and full funding of the state’s working families tax rebate) were specifically designed to offset the regressive nature of the carbon tax. The net result would have left those lower on the income scale better off.

But by doing the wonky thing, by burying all the benefits of the policy in impersonal and largely invisible tax shifts, 732 denied itself any political bargaining power.

There was theoretically something in 732 for everyone — i.e., the moral satisfaction of having struck a blow against climate change — but there wasn’t anything in particular in it for anyone in particular. It didn’t “pick winners.” That drew the approbation of economists, but it also left the policy without any potential winners to fight for it.

Perhaps it ought to be true that a blow against climate change and a general increase in tax fairness are enough to draw support from labor organizations, or communities facing present-day climate impacts, or low-income communities. But those groups have urgent problems and climate mitigation as such rarely rises to the top of the priority list. They are differentially impacted by climate change and rightly expect differential attention and support from climate policy. Without visible, tangible benefits on offer, they will not undertake the work of organizing.

One way or another, tangible, visible benefits means money. Real investments.

And so the 1631 coalition went all the way in the other direction from 732. Rather than returning all the carbon revenue in tax cuts, 1631 would return none of it in tax cuts. It would invest all of it.

Sightline made this chart of how the revenue is slated for spending:

Sightline

Of the revenue:

70 percent would go to “clean air and clean energy.” 15 percent of that would go specifically to easing the burden on low-income energy consumers. $12 million would go to a fund that helps ease fossil fuel workers transition out of the industry.

25 percent would go to “clean water and healthy forests,” increasing the resilience of the state’s natural ecosystems to climate change.

5 percent would go to “healthy communities,” assisting (especially rural) communities impacted by climate change.

The result would be a rolling wave of investments across the state, to the tune of around a billion dollars a year, for decades to come. Here’s a Yes On 1631 map showing the types of local investments that could be funded by carbon revenue:

Yes On 1631

That’s a lot of tangible, visible benefits.

And all those in-state projects mean good jobs as well. Jeff Johnson, president of the Washington State Labor Council, serves on the governance board of the Alliance for Jobs and Clean Energy, which was where 1631 was written. He emphasized to me that “high-quality labor standards are built into the grant process for clean energy and healthy forests grants.”

This is the core of the dispute.

The political theory behind revenue-neutral carbon taxes, and 732, is that they have bipartisan appeal. They don’t increase government revenue, they don’t spend money on government-selected interest groups, and they have been endorsed by a number of conservative economists.

They ought to have bipartisan appeal. If Republicans were actually motivated by conservative economic principles, they would have bipartisan appeal. But in practice, they don’t have bipartisan appeal.

What the coalition behind 732 discovered — what one earnest group of would-be bipartisan compromisers after another has discovered, in what is perhaps the most consistent theme of US politics for as long as I’ve been following it — is that Republicans are not, in fact, motivated by conservative economic principles. They are motivated primarily by tribal hostility toward the left and the demographic changes it represents. The institutional Republican Party would sooner saw its own arm off than give the left a “bipartisan” victory on climate change.

And so 732 lost, with only three endorsements from Republican office-holders. And so Donald Trump won.

So what’s the other theory of change?

732 was not received favorably by groups on the left. From most environmental, labor, low-income, and community of color groups, reaction ranged from tepid to hostile.

The complaints were twofold. First, 732 was developed by a small group of economists and handed to the public like a done deal. “Support this.” Left groups never felt sufficiently consulted or heard by 732 leaders.

Second, they felt the policy itself did not do enough for the communities most likely to be impacted by climate change and/or the transition to clean energy.

Yes On 1631

So, again, the 1631 campaign went all the way in the other direction, giving up on the chimera of bipartisan cooperation and instead seeking to knit together the fractious left. The coalition came together first (under the banner of the Alliance for Jobs and Clean Energy, which formed in 2014), to talk and begin understanding concerns across traditionally siloed groups, before any policy was developed.

In fact, it took over a year of work after the demise of 732 for a consensus policy to be hammered out; every constituent group had a say. The result is a remarkably broad array of endorsements, from all quarters of the left and from hundreds of pro-clean-energy businesses. (Endorsers include Carbon Washington, the group behind 732.)

“Frontline and communities of color came together with workers, environmentalists, public health leaders, and so many others to put our heads together to create what works best for our state,” says Aiko Schaefer of Front and Centered, an umbrella organization of low-income and community-of-color groups. “It is the embodiment of an inclusive democracy, and it stands in the face of the divisiveness fueled by President Trump.”

This a coalition-first, policy-second approach. And once you have a left coalition big and broad enough that it stands a chance of winning, you realize revenue neutrality is untenable.

One of the ways 732 attempted to appeal across party lines was by focusing narrowly on carbon emissions. It taxed enough to reduce carbon, cut other taxes enough to offset the income impacts, and … that’s it. By design, it did no “social engineering,” as they say on the right. It did not try to solve other social problems like inequality or discrimination. It purposefully tried to remain independent of the broader left agenda.

Again, the 1631 coalition goes all the way in the other direction. In messaging and in policy, it is strongly focused on climate justice and equity.

The policy is modeled on California’s: a total of 35 percent of the carbon revenue, across all the three buckets of spending, must be deployed in a way that provides “direct and meaningful” benefits to communities in “pollution and health action areas,” to be defined by the Department of Health. (In California they are “disadvantaged communities.”) Within that 35 percent, 10 percent of the investments must fund programs within the geographical boundaries of those areas and another 10 percent must be in projects approved by Indian tribes.

So far, in California, that has meant about $1 billion of investments that benefit disadvantaged communities and $615 million in investments directly within them. In Washington’s smaller economy, the numbers will be smaller, but still, it will mean substantial, ongoing investments in communities that have been ignored by state policymakers for a long, long time.

“The program has to make sufficient targeted investments to ensure that people with lower incomes don’t have to spend more on energy because of the fee,” says Kelley, citing “utility bill assistance, transit assistance, weatherization, and no- or low-cost community renewable energy projects like solar.”

Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Jane Fonda support 1631. Yes On 1631

Part of 732’s (theoretical) appeal to conservatives was its libertarian spirit. It left no role for government discretion; the tax tweaks did 100 percent of the work.

Again, 1631 is going far in the other direction. It would create several new government agencies and give others new powers.

In the governor’s office, a new Public Oversight Board, made up of 15 governor-appointed voting members, would broadly oversee the effort. It would receive counsel from three new advisory panels: the Clean Air and Clean Energy Panel, the Clean Water and Healthy Forest Panel, and the Environmental and Economic Justice Panel. Each would have nine governor-appointed members, meant to reflect diverse stakeholders.

Every four years, the Department of Commerce would issue a new greenhouse gas reduction plan, as well as a report on progress. The departments of Ecology, Natural Resources, and Agriculture would be responsible for additional plans and regulations.

1631 amounts to a big bet that a government-led decarbonization effort can be popular, ambitious, and effective. When conservatives talk about “tax and spend liberalism,” when they talk about “Big Government liberalism,” this is what they’re talking about.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. California, the undisputed climate leader in the US, has shown that technocracy can work. (In fact, that’s arguably the principle lesson to be learned from California’s carbon efforts.) The bulk of the state’s carbon-reduction programs were designed by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), a group of governor-appointed experts.

The state’s decarbonization and clean-energy successes — with a balanced program of carbon pricing (through a cap-and-trade system), regulations, and investments — are a great advertisement for the ability of competent governance, guided by expertise, to manage an energy transition.

California Gov. Jerry Brown chats with CARB Chair Mary Nichols and state AG Xavier Becerra. AP

Time will tell whether Washington’s bureaucrats are similarly chosen on the basis of expertise and given relative freedom from legislative interference. I hope Washington leaders are talking to their counterparts in California.

732 was a tax. 1631 is a fee. That’s not just semantics — in Washington, it matters. A tax goes into general revenue (even if it is offset by tax cuts). All the revenue from a fee must be devoted to the purpose of the fee.

What that means, in practical terms, is that 732 was forced to put the tax up front in its ballot language. Many voters first encountered it as a plan to “impose a carbon emission tax on certain fossil fuels and fossil-fuel-generated electricity.” Lots of people, having failed to receive proper instruction on why they should like this particular tax, fell back on generic anti-tax sentiment.

1631 is a fee — it is raising money for something, namely pollution reduction and remediation. That means the ballot language can lead with the purpose of the fee rather than the fee itself. Voters will encounter it on the ballot as a plan for “investing in clean air, clean energy, clean water, healthy forests, and healthy communities,” which sounds like a bunch of good things. Only then will they hear that it is paid for “by imposing a fee on large emitters based on their pollution.”

732 was “a tax (which will pay for cool things).” 1631 is “cool things (paid for by a fee).”

This is the approach to carbon pricing I’ve been advocating for years: lead with the good stuff the carbon price will pay for. People like good stuff! But they have trouble seeing a price on carbon as a good thing in and of itself (despite economists’ exhortations). If they are being asked to pay, they want a clear sense of what they’re paying for. “We’re going to take the money and then give it back” doesn’t intuitively make sense to them.

I’m not the only one who thinks the benefits-first approach has promise. The minute the initiative was filed, the Association of Washington Businesses, a conservative-leaning business group, filed a lawsuit challenging the language. (It lost.) It knows that a bunch of investments in good things is going to sound better to voters than a tax.

And so that’s how you put together a unite-the-left campaign: Offer investments that visibly create jobs, protect vulnerable communities, and improve air and water quality. Show them the money.

And if every group has a place at the table, a role in developing policy, and tangible benefits at stake, every group is far more likely to organize. Sure enough, it is the extraordinary organizing of front-line groups, gathered under the banner Front and Centered, that has carried 1631 this far.

“Our communities exist under the radar of traditional polling and outreach by traditional means,” Schaefer says. Because the 1631 campaign engaged frontline communities in good faith, now “the work is being done by leaders and groups who are trusted and have the linguistic and cultural competency to educate and engage and mobilize their communities.” (In the Nation, Sasha Abramsky has a great story on 1631 that emphasizes the climate-justice angle.)

This theory of change bets on the united left’s ability to muster the organizing and money necessary to counter an unfathomably deep-pocketed right, which won’t be easy, even in a blue state. The campaign against 1631 stands to receive almost unlimited funds from oil and gas groups and conservative PACs.

So far, the Yes campaign has raised a little over $5 million. The No campaign has raised $20 million, 99 percent of which has come from oil and gas. The oil and gas industry is spending $30 million just to crush a citizen initiative in Colorado, so there’s no reason to think it can’t keep increasing the total right up through November.

Yes on 1631

To point out the obvious: Just because the political theory of change behind 732 didn’t pan out, that doesn’t mean the political theory of change behind 1631 is destined for victory. It’s early in the game and there’s no public polling yet, so it’s difficult to get a sense of 1631’s chances, but initiatives are notoriously difficult and climate policy often seems cursed in Washington.

Still, “the oil industry wouldn’t be spending $20 million if they weren’t pretty worried about this passing,” says Nick Abraham of Yes On 1631.

There are plenty of good-faith criticisms of the 1631 strategy. Wonks and economists will grumble about a big new revenue-positive tax and government spending programs, though an analysis by economist Robert Pollin and colleagues at the Political Economy Research Institute concluded that “clean energy investments in Washington State that would be sufficient to put the state on a true climate stabilization trajectory will generate about 40,000 jobs per year within the state.”

The people behind 732 have grumbled that, even if the left can unite to drive through ambitious climate policy via ballot initiative — which would a first in the country — it wouldn’t set much of a precedent for federal climate action. There’s no direct-democracy equivalent at the federal level and overwhelming Democratic majorities seem a remote prospect.

But the fact that lots of big things can’t be done without at least a little Republican cooperation does not mean that it is worth spending endless political capital chasing that cooperation.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee campaigns for I-1631. Yes On 1631

There are other ways for Washington to influence national politics, beyond simply giving federal legislators ideas. Other things are worth political capital: showing that the left’s disparate, siloed factions can work together to implement effective policy; demonstrating that the left stands for something, that it can get results when given power; leading other states by example.

“Trump can’t stop this state from building a clean-energy economy,” says Inslee. “He can’t stop us from doing paid family leave. He can’t stop us from doing net neutrality. This is a place where we control our own destiny.” What Trump can do, he says, is inspire Democrats. “He’s doing a fine job of showing the importance of voting.”

1631 isn’t necessarily the policy I’d cook up in my ideal policy lab. I’d like to see a higher fee that rises faster, fewer industries exempted (it will eventually cover about 80 percent of state emissions), and a big chunk of the revenue (say, 25 percent) set aside for either per-capita rebate checks and/or reductions in other regressive taxes, especially Washington’s odious sales tax. (Though, as Abraham reminded me, that would be an illegal use of a “fee” here in Washington.)

But that’s quibbling, and the time for armchair quarterbacking is over. The die is cast. If 1631 fails, it will be a serious blow: a blow to the credibility of state leaders who held out on 732 in favor of this strategy; a blow to climate policy in Washington, which already has so many slapstick failures it’s starting to look like a Buster Keaton movie; and a blow to the larger effort to create a West Coast coalition of states leading on climate change.

In an election season when the fate of the nation seems at stake, it’s difficult to take anything else in, but when it comes to climate policy — not only in Washington, not only in the Northwest, but nationally — the upcoming vote in Washington really matters.

Original Source -> A Green New Deal is on the ballot in Washington state this year

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slrlounge1 · 6 years ago

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Nikon Z6 Review – Does Sony Have Serious Competition?

[REWIND: The Nikon Z7 And Z6 | Who Will Like Them, And Who Will Not]

NIkon Z6, Nikkor 17-35mm – 1/800 sec, f/11, ISO 110

For the review, I had the Z6 body with 24-70mm f/4 lens and the FTZ Adapter kit, and I tested all of my existing lenses on that adapter, including the following:

Sigma A 35mm f/1.4

Sigma 60-600 f/4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM

Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 EX DG HSM

Nikon 50mm f/1.4 G

Nikon 85mm f/1.4 G

Nikon 17-35mm f/2.8 IF-ED

[REWIND: Nikon Z7 Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera Review]

Nikon Z6, Nikkor S 24-70mm F4 S, 1/160 Sec, at f/5.6, ISO 100

Technical Specifications For The Nikon Z6 ($1,996.95)

24.5MP FX-Format BSI CMOS Sensor

EXPEED 6 Image Processing Engine

UHD 4K30 Video; N-Log & 10-Bit HDMI Out

273-Point Phase-Detect AF System

Built-In 5-Axis Vibration Reduction

0.80x 3.6m-Dot EVF with NIKKOR Optics

3.2″ 2.1m-Dot Tilting Touchscreen LCD

3.69M-dot OLED viewfinder

12 fps Shooting; ISO 100-51200

Top-Panel Dot-Matrix OLED; XQD Card Slot

UHD 4K capture up to 30p

10-bit 4:2:2 N-Log output over HDMI

Up to 100Mbps H.264 8-bit internal video capture

SnapBridge Wi-Fi system with Bluetooth

FTZ Mount Adapter

Nikon Z6, FTZ Adapter, Sigma 35mm F/1.4 A, 1/1000 Sec at f/1.4, ISO 100

Nikon Z6 vs The Nikon Z7 – WHat’s The Difference?

Megapixels

Nikon Z6, Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4 S, 1/25 sec at f/4.0, ISO 4000

ISO

Nikon Z6, Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4 S, 1/800 sec at f/4, ISO 8000

Nikon Z6, Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4 S, 1/800 sec at f/4, ISO 8000 at 100% Crop

Autofocus

Nikon Z6, FTZ Adapter, Sigma 35mm f/1.4 A, 1/100 sec at f/1.4, ISO 400

4k Video

The Z6 can deliver the highest quality in FX/Full frame mode.

Continuous Shooting

Nikon Z6, Sigma 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3, 1/200 sec at f/11, ISO 280

8K Time-Lapse

youtube

Battery Life

Nikon Z6, Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4 S, 1/500 sec at f/4, ISO 50

Z6 vs Z7 Price

Nikon Z6, Nikkor 85mm F/1.4 G, 1/125 sec at f/1.4, ISO 400

NIKON Z6 Pros

Rich Colors that match previous generations of the Nikon brand and enhance them.

Ergonomic improvement over the D800 and older DSLRS (D500 & D850’s are similar in form to the Z series).

I found the grip to be a perfect size for my hand and probably the most comfortable camera I’ve held.

For a more detailed look at the ergonomics, check out this Nikon Z7 Review, since the bodies are practically identical.

Intuitive controls.

In-Body Stabilization.

I shot with this camera in pretty much every environment I could think of and I found—with still shots—the stabilization worked better than any other system I’ve been hands-on with.

Fast & responsive touch screen.

Lightweight system.

120p video includes sound and full sensor, giving you much more creative control in post.

Silent Shutter means less intrusive image taking during events and important moments.

USB charging AND the ability to use older batteries (without USB charging).

You can even plug a battery pack into this while using it to extend your day!

High ISO outperformed everything I had worked with in the past (except the D850), which blew my mind.

Autofocus.

Easy to use Intervalometer and Time-Lapse movie recording built in.

No need for a remote or external adapters for this one. You can program pretty much everything in camera now.

Touch Screen Monitor

Easily access nearly every single setting on your camera, including using the touch screen to focus and shoot your images.

Wireless Connectivity & Bluetooth

NIKON Z6 Cons

Poor autofocus performance in low light or back-lit settings for both video and stills.

Specialized/New (EXPENSIVE) memory card.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it was a “con” that I had to invest in a new memory card to fully review this system, as well as order a specialized card reader.

Single memory card slot.

Odd exposure and white balance behavior in mixed light settings with auto ISO, auto white balance, and silent shutter enabled.

Rolling shutter and warp in video when stabilization is enabled.

Effectively, the stabilization feature is a tad aggressive when used in video. A simple pan motion or walking may cause the footage to be basically unusable.

Function buttons are both located on the front of the body, making them feel a bit awkward to use.

As mentioned in the last pro above, the wireless app is kinda great to have, but a bit of a pain to get setup and use on the regular.

Sensor is unprotected when you swap lenses.

Nikon Z6, Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4 S, 1/160 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100

Nikon Z6 Review Conclusion

What are your thoughts? Have you tested the Nikon Z6 and Z7 bodies yet? Did you buy one already? Let us know in the comments below.

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terryblount · 6 years ago

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Ashen Review: It’s Dark Souls but Much Worse

Last Thursday at The Game Awards the announcement was made: Ashen is out now, exclusive to the Epic Games Store (why?). This game, years in the making, is suddenly unleashed upon the world with almost no marketing and not available on the world’s largest game store (Steam). A dubious start. So what is this game, and is it worth the wait?

Ashen, quite simply, is a low-budget Dark Souls clone that’s inferior in every way. It’s fairly short, has no character choices or builds, is a bit floaty and imprecise with its combat, and has a nonsensical story. However, there is a certain charm to it if you’re a die-hard Souls-like fan, but Ashen does little to win over new players to the genre.

The Art Style: Pretty but Problematic

The most striking thing about this game ever since its 2015 reveal is the unique minimalistic art style. There’s certainly an appeal to this very bleak and drab world featuring characters with no faces. There’s some lovely views and inspiring environments that invite exploration.

This is one of the more colorful and impressive landscapes. The joy of exploration!

However, I can’t help but feel the art style choice was made more for the sake of easier art creation than good game design. From nearly the very start the art style gets in the way of playability. The enemies, clutter, and backgrounds blend together as mostly muted grays and browns, which limits the visual distinction needed during intense combat. More on that later.

The Story: Dark Souls but Nonsensical

From the start the game presents itself as almost absurdly inspired by Dark Souls. The introduction cutscene is a close copy of the original Dark Souls introduction…except without the quality art, excellent voice acting, and haunting atmosphere.

The story, as best as I can describe it, is about an old power that brought light to the world but fell and was consumed by the dark or something. You’re trying to figure out a way back to the light. Maybe.

The game also falls victim to fantasy term overload. There’s Listeners and Humans and Ashen and Elder Dark and Gefn (who’s totally not Gwyn from Dark Souls)…and none of this is allowed to have its time and place.

“Ake had the blood of chiefs in his veins and the brains of a fangfish in his skull.” – Eila

Dark Souls’ story gets away with ambiguity because it creates a living and breathing world for you to unravel as you play. Ashen has no such subtlety or depth here, partially because of it’s low-budget.

To prove my point, the characters speak quite seriously, with fairly low-quality voice acting (budget constraints again), as if any of their unexplained fantasy talk means something. Yet it’s easy to see that their quests are actually quite contrived, mostly being fetch or kill quests that conveniently pad out the gameplay time.

Here be a quest giver! She probably needs something fetched or someone killed.

Crafting: Thinking not Required

Continuing the trend of inferior copycat, the crafting/upgrade system in Ashen is also a lesser version of Dark Souls. There’s only two meaningful weapon types: one-handed and two-handed. And there’s only one upgrade path for each weapon. Your armor and shield can’t be upgraded, and the armor is simply one single piece instead of the mix-and-match sets of Dark Souls.

“A tinker without tools is like a lamp without fuel. A dull affair indeed.” – Flokir

What’s worse is there’s not really any distinct move sets between clubs or axes or whatnot (there are no swords for some reason). Therefore, you basically pick any weapon you want and dutifully upgrade it as you collect the plentiful materials. It’s very basic and the lack of interesting choices makes this feel all rather perfunctory.

I’m exploring this mountain pass using the club and shield because it’s all the same anyway.

Character Non-Building

Perhaps most puzzling is the complete lack character leveling system, which means there are no assignable stat points, which means there are no character builds. You earn points when you kill enemies, but these points are only used to upgrade or modify or purchase various items.

“You are stronger now, child of mine. In spirit, in body, and in the company you keep.” – Gefn

For the first few hours I kept thinking I must be missing the system that lets me, you know, build my character! But I wasn’t missing anything. There is simply no character building system. So bizarre.

There is a simply rune system you can equip and expand as you play, giving slight boosts to stamina or whatnot. However, there’s also no magic or spell system of any kind. I guess that would have been too much to ask?

The World Itself: Looting & Climbing

Things are looking pretty bad for Ashen so far, but the world itself is a bright spot. There’s dank caves, ruined palaces, peaceful rivers, expansive plains, bandit hideouts, and more. Many of the locations are inspired by (take a wild guess) Dark Souls, but even if the creativity is lacking, exploration is enjoyable.

I do enjoy a good treasure hidden around a corner! Poor little skeleton…time to loot!

One big reason for the enjoyment is all the hidden treasures stashed throughout the environments. It’s good fun entering new areas for the first time and finding the nooks and crannies often containing loot. Although most of these items aren’t very helpful since the lack of crafting choices limits the rare loot. Oh well.

I should mention there’s a climbing system that lets you grapple up roughly neck-high objects. It’s a bit wonky, but it let’s you explore in some unique and cool ways…and die often as you fail to climb properly and fall to your unfortunate death…

The One Unique Thing: Your Village

I must mention the one unique aspect of Ashen: the village-building system. The tutorial has you found a small village that is basically just some fields and rocks by a river. You’ll encounter various characters in the world that will join your cause and move in to your village.

Ah, home sweet home by the fire! Watching my village expand is a real highlight.

As you complete quests for various characters, you’ll visually see their houses being built. It’s a nice touch that serves to connect you to the world a bit more, and that connection is desperately needed to make things feel a bit more cohesive.

Note that there are zero choices to make regarding the building system. It’s all automatic. You don’t do anything except play and watch, which is fine I guess but a bit disappointing compared to what other games offer these days.

The Fiddly and Deadly Combat

Being a Dark Souls clone, this game lives and dies by how well balanced and solid the combat system is. On the plus side the “you can die in a moment if you’re not careful” threat is ever-present, giving a very nice sense wariness and accomplishment as you explore more dangerous and demanding encounters.

Less fortunate is the finicky controls and floaty-feeling movement. There’s very little weightiness to the combat. Often it feels like you’re just flailing about, hoping the targeting system puts you in the right attack direction.

Too many effects going off, too much chaos. Battles are far too messy to carefully study.

The combat balancing is mostly good, but there are several obnoxious locations inspired by the most annoying locations of past Dark Souls games (Blighttown, New Londo Ruins, Shrine of Amana).

It’s very dark and dangerous. There’s a bunch of enemies who may jump out at any moment…

Cooperative Play and AI Woes

Ashen is weird when it comes to multiplayer. It tries for some bizarre combination of Dark Souls and Journey and it’s kind of a mess. You can join up with other real players at times. However, most of the game will likely be played with an AI companion. Although sometimes you’ll play alone because the game is either broken or maybe it’s intentional…I’m not sure.

Speaking of the AI, usually the AI companion will attack the enemies and revive you if you go down. However, there’s plenty of times the AI will get stuck, be unable to follow, may stop attacking, and will stand next to your dying body refusing to revive you. Not cool at all.

My idiot AI companion is standing over there, refusing to come revive me. Very upsetting.

Overall, the cooperative system is unreliable. For a game that is so hard in spots and built for coop, there needs to be far better companion AI and an easier way to join up with a real world friend.

Conclusion: The Price is Too High

Ashen is a lesser Dark Souls clone with a nonsense story, no character building, messy combat, fiddly cooperative play, and a fairly small world by comparison.

On the positive side, the art style has its charms, and the village-building is a nice concept. I did enjoy my time with it, but I realize this is mostly because I’m a Souls-like fanatic who’ll enjoy even poorly made imitations.

However, there just isn’t enough quality here to justify the asking price of $40. If the game was priced at $20, I’d definitely recommend it to Souls-like fans because the game feels roughly one-third as good as a proper Dark Souls experience.

Stylized art, pretty views

Rewarding exploration

Village-building is nice

Semi-helpful companions

Mostly fair challenge

Totally stable

Super-fast loading

Few glitches for me

Tries to be Dark Souls

Floaty movement/combat

No character builds

Limited crafting/upgrading

Companion AI issues

Lore is mumbo-jumbo

Finicky keyboard mappings

Low-budget graphics

No new game plus

Fails to be Dark Souls

Playtime: 18 hours total. Nick finished all quests and explored nearly everywhere in about 18 hours.

Computer Specs: Windows 10 64-bit computer using an Intel i7-3930k CPU, 32GB of memory, and a nVidia GTX 980 Ti graphics card.

Ashen Review: It’s Dark Souls but Much Worse published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

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